


when I’m with you (it’s something to do with magic)

by seaunicorn



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Dog adoption, Dogs, F/F, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22343959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaunicorn/pseuds/seaunicorn
Summary: “Hi! Do you have a moment?”Emma suppressed the urge to groan as she was approached the moment she stepped out the doors. Without looking up, she called out, “Sorry, I’m gay!”There was a brief pause and Emma thought she was home free, about to step into the parking lot, when the woman spoke again. “Uh, good for you? I am too.”Emma froze, cheeks turning red with embarrassment as she slowly turned around. There was no red tin or annoying bell in sight. The woman in the Santa hat was actually really cute, with soft brown eyes, and dark brown curls that fell down her shoulders. She had a scarf around her neck and the cold wind whipped at her face, blowing her curls into her eyes and turning her nose pink. She had an amused smile on her lips. She wasn’t holding a clipboard or an iPad or any sort of money collection device, but just a simple stack of flyers in her arms.Emma gaped at her a moment. “I—I’m so sorry,” she stuttered. “I thought you were Salvation Army.”Or... dog adoption AU
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 31
Kudos: 181





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know how this happened. Enjoy.

Emma Nolan was not having a good day.

She slept through her alarm and was late to work. She didn’t have time to shower that morning, but hey, it started raining on her as she was walking to the subway, so that should count for something, right? And after her shift at the music shop was finished, she had to stop at the grocery store. All she wanted to do was go home and get out of the rain, but the guy from Greenpeace who accosted her as she tried to walk into the store was only getting in her way.

Emma grabbed what she needed to make dinner and a package of toilet paper and headed to checkout as quickly as she could. She spotted a Santa hat just outside the automatic doors and rolled her eyes.  _ Great, _ she thought,  _ now the Salvation Army is here _ .

The rain had let up, thankfully, but it was still wet and cloudy outside. Emma gathered her groceries and kept her eyes firmly on the ground as she walked out the door, hoping to avoid the attention of the canvassers.

“Hi! Do you have a moment?”

Emma suppressed the urge to groan as she was approached the moment she stepped out the doors. Without looking up, she called out, “Sorry, I’m gay!”

There was a brief pause and Emma thought she was home free, about to step into the parking lot, when the woman spoke again. “Uh, good for you? I am too.”

Emma froze, cheeks turning red with embarrassment as she slowly turned around. There was no red tin or annoying bell in sight. The woman in the Santa hat was actually really cute, with soft brown eyes, and dark brown curls that fell down her shoulders. She had a scarf around her neck and the cold wind whipped at her face, blowing her curls into her eyes and turning her nose pink. She had an amused smile on her lips. She wasn’t holding a clipboard or an iPad or any sort of money collection device, but just a simple stack of flyers in her arms.

Emma gaped at her a moment. “I—I’m so sorry,” she stuttered. “I thought you were Salvation Army.”

The woman laughed, “Oh, definitely not Salvation Army. I’m not asking for money, I’m just trying to spread the word about the Midtown Animal Shelter. I’m Alyssa.”

She held out her hand and Emma, still in a trance, shook it. “Emma,” she said, “is my name. Um, hi.”

Alyssa’s cheeks were flushed, though Emma figured that was just due to the cold. “Can I give you one of these?” she asked, holding up a flyer. Emma nodded, taking it from her. “If you or anyone you know is looking into getting a pet anytime soon, whether as a gift for the holidays or as a companion for yourself, we have our annual Broadway Cares Holiday Adoption Fair coming up in about a week.”

“Adoption fair?”

Alyssa nodded. “Last year we found homes for over a hundred animals in just one day.”

“And, uh— and you’ll be there?” Emma asked, cringing at how not-so-subtle she was being.

Alyssa didn’t seem to notice, though, and smiled brightly. “Yes, I’ll be working the event.” She hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with the flyers in her hands, then looked back up at Emma. “I’d really love to see you there.”

A dopey smile overtook Emma’s features as she blushed. She looked at Alyssa for a moment, until a gust of wind swept some of the flyers out of Alyssa’s arms. Emma dropped some of her bags as she ran to help gather them. They were a little damp and some were unusable, but she was able to salvage a few of them. She presented them to Alyssa with an apologetic smile, but Alyssa seemed grateful regardless.

“Thank you,” she muttered.

“Yeah, no problem,” Emma said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ll just hold onto this one, though.” She folded up one of the flyers and tucked it into her pocket. “I guess I’ll see you next week?”

Alyssa nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, definitely. Next week. December 23rd. It starts at noon.”

Emma picked up her bags. “I’ll be there.”

“Great,” Alyssa nodded.

“Cool.” Emma backed away.

“It was nice meeting you, Emma.”

“Yeah, you too, Alyssa.”

“Watch out for—“

Emma spun around as a car screeched to a halt and honked at her. She hadn’t been watching where she walked as she stepped into the street. “Shit,” she muttered. “Bye!”

Alyssa had an adorable smile on her face as she giggled and waved. “Goodbye, Emma.”

All it took was one unexpected interaction to turn Emma’s whole day around.

* * *

Alyssa darted across the auditorium, weaving through rows of kennels and gates and crates. The air was filled with barks and meows and hissing, and the sounds didn’t do anything to calm her frustration. She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes until they open the doors and things were so far from ready.

“Shelby!” she called out. “I can’t find the adoption forms! I left them on the chair by the stage while we set up the registration table but they’re not there anymore.”

Shelby popped up from behind the snack table, looking just as exasperated as Alyssa felt. “Sorry, I think Dee Dee Allen might have moved them. She thought that was her chair.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Remind me again why we work with Broadway divas every year for this event?”

Shelby shrugged. “They draw a big crowd.”

Alyssa rubbed her temple. “Unfortunately.”

“Anyway, she has requested warm water with lemon, and I don’t think we have any fucking lemons, or hot water that’s not tap water, so can you just kill me now so I don’t have to hear her nagging voice when I tell her that?”

“I’d love to help you with that, Shelb, but I have to find these adoption forms otherwise none of these animals are getting homes today.”

Eventually, Alyssa found the adoption forms. Dee Dee gave them to Barry who gave them to Sheldon who realized they were actually important but didn’t know where to put them so he just held onto them. At least one of these Broadway boneheads wasn’t a complete idiot. He was their PR manager rather than a performer, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Finally, the registration table was ready, the chairs were all set up, Dee Dee was waiting onstage for the people to file inside, and just as the clock struck twelve, they were all set to kick off the event.

Alyssa was excited to see that the crowd outside was large, and just as thrilled to be here as she hoped they would be. As people began to file in, she and Shelby directed them to their seats for the event kick-off before adoptions were open.

Eventually, Alyssa made her way back to the registration table, making sure the volunteers were on task. Soon enough, most of the crowd had filed inside and removed their coats and scarves, escaping from the cold outside. A few people occasionally trickled in from the back entrance, but things had mostly settled down. Alyssa waved to catch Dee Dee’s attention, and gave the signal for her to begin.

A moment later, soft piano notes rang through the speakers, and Dee Dee began her rendition of  _ In the Arms of an Angel. _

Alyssa rolled her eyes, but if it would tug at the heartstrings of all the people there enough so that they left with a new friend to adopt, it would be worth it.

When the song ended, Dee Dee posed for the applause, and a moment later, Barry Glickman stepped onstage, carrying a small, golden doodle puppy.

“Welcome,” he announced, “to the ninth annual Broadway Cares Holiday Adoption Fair! I am your host for the evening, Barry Glickman. Let’s give it up once again for Dee Dee Allen for that beautiful performance! It sure had me misty eyed.” He paused as the audience applauded once again. “Now, I don’t want to keep you in your seats for too long. We mostly have dogs and cats up for adoption today, but if you’re interested in something else please speak to one of our lovely representatives. Even if you’re allergic, like me, we have pets for every— _ achoo!” _

Barry paused and glared at the puppy for a moment. The dog smiled up at him and licked him in the face. Barry gagged and held the dog away from him as he looked offstage, finding Shelby in the crowd.

“I thought you said she was hypoallergenic!”

There were a few laughs from the crowd, and Alyssa glanced out at the sound. Her eyes scanned across a few people until they fell on a familiar face. Her eyes met Emma’s from across the room, the ghost of a laugh still on her visage. There was a moment of hesitation before the recognition settled in. Emma’s smile grew and she raised her hand to wave to Alyssa. Alyssa waved back at her.

Barry quickly wrapped up his opening remarks, eager to put down the apparently non hypoallergenic dog that he was holding. The moment the crowd dispersed, Alyssa’s feet carried her across the room to where Emma stood, looking around hesitant and unsure of what to do.

Sure, Alyssa met a lot of people every day. She helped dozens of people adopt dogs every week, and she probably gave event flyers to hundreds that she met briefly. But there was something about Emma when they briefly met that drew Alyssa in. Maybe it was her gorgeous hazel eyes, or her dorky smile, or the adorable blush on her cheeks when she was flustered. Alyssa knew it was a long shot, but she hoped that she would get to see Emma again.

And here she was, as promised. Alyssa’s heart raced in her chest as she walked up behind Emma and tapped her on the shoulder. Emma spun around and her face lit up when she saw Alyssa.

“You came!” Alyssa said, unable to contain her excitement.

Emma’s cheeks flushed and she shrugged. “Yeah,” she said. “I live by myself so my gran thought it would be a good idea to get a dog to keep me company.”

“Well, dogs are great companions,” Alyssa said, wincing at the practiced words that instinctively fell from her mouth. Sure, she was trying to find a good home for one of their animals, but she didn’t want Emma to think that was the only reason she was talking to her. “Um, if you tell me a little about yourself and what kind of dog you’re looking for I can help you find a good match?”

Emma blinked in surprise. “Uh, okay. What kind of stuff do you need to know?”

“Well, are you married or have any kids? Any significant other that’ll be coming around frequently that the dog would be around?” Alyssa hoped Emma wouldn’t notice her blush and put together the real reason she was asking these questions.

“No,  _ definitely not,  _ and no,” Emma said with a laugh. “Single as can be.” She awkwardly gave finger guns. God, she was adorable. “But—um, I’d still want a dog who’s friendly and playful. I do have friends that I’d want to be able to hang out with it. Um… I live in a studio apartment but it’s pretty big, and there’s a dog park right across the street and Central Park is also pretty close. There’s like, Great Danes and stuff living in the same building. And um, a puppy would be nice, but I know those are probably the most popular. Actually, the one onstage earlier was really cute. And… I don’t know, just a cool dog I guess. I mean, all dogs are cool but I know mine is gonna be, like, exceptionally cool. And I’ll stop talking now.”

Alyssa bit her lip to suppress a giggle as Emma rambled on about what kind of dog she wanted, and she knew immediately that Emma was going to be the perfect, most caring dog mom out there. “Well, lucky for you, you’re here early,” Alyssa said. “I can show you the puppies. Come here.” She unthinkingly grabbed Emma’s hand and led her to the corner with the litter of golden doodle puppies. There were eight of them and enclosed in a small pen, running around and full of energy. Barry stood just outside of it, arguing with Shelby.

“I’m telling you, these dogs are  _ not  _ hypoallergenic and they shouldn’t be advertised as such!”

“And I’m telling  _ you _ , they are. You’re just… super allergic.”

Barry scoffed at her. “I am not. I dated a man with a hairless cat and it did not make me sneeze  _ once!” _

“Yeah. Hairless. These guys still have fur.”

As Barry opened his mouth to reply, he sneezed again.

Alyssa rolled her eyes and interjected. “Hey guys, has anyone come to look at the litter yet?”

Shelby gratefully welcomed the excuse to ignore Barry and turned to Alyssa. “A few people have come by! I think they’re browsing everything and then coming back. I told them the puppies will be the first to go, but they didn’t listen.” Shelby’s eyes found Emma, standing awkwardly next to Alyssa and she raised a curious eyebrow. “Who’s this?”

“This is Emma,” Alyssa said. “She expressed some interest in these puppies so I figured I’d show her.” She turned to Emma and continued on. “These are golden doodles, so they check a lot of the boxes that you listed. They can be pretty energetic, but they’re very smart and extremely playful and affectionate. You definitely won’t be lonely with a golden doodle around.”

“Can I?” Emma asked, gesturing to the enclosure.

“Of course!” Alyssa opened the gate, allowing Emma to step inside. She sat down and immediately the puppies began to climb all over her, jumping on her lap, licking her face. Emma looked like the happiest person in the world, petting the dogs, grinning like a madman, bouncing with excitement like a puppy herself. It was the cutest thing Alyssa had ever seen and she couldn’t manage to tear her eyes away from the sight. “These little guys are eight weeks old. We’ve got two girls and six boys. We rescued their mother from an abusive home and helped her have these healthy little babies.”

“Oh my goodness!” Emma laughed, grabbing one that was trying to bite on her hair. “I love them! What are their names?”

“The one you’re holding is French Fry,” Alyssa said. She pointed them out individually. “That’s Cheeseburger, that one is Milkshake, there’s Hot Dog and Corn Dog— we call ‘em the twins because they were born in the same minute and have been inseparable ever since— Onion Ring is asleep in the corner over there, Ketchup is in your lap, and Chicken Nugget just untied your shoelaces.”

Emma gasped and set down French Fry to look down at Chicken Nugget, who was still tugging on her shoelace. Emma glared at the puppy and Chicken Nugget froze for a moment, then continued to tug. Emma’s radiant grin was overjoyed as she reached out and pulled Chicken Nugget into her arms. “Aren’t you a little trickster?” she muttered. Chicken Nugget licked her face and Emma laughed.

“I think she likes you.”

“Yeah?” Emma asked, looking up at Alyssa. There was a light in her eyes that took Alyssa’s breath away. “What’s her name again, Chicken Nugget?” Alyssa nodded. “Who named her?”

“Unfortunately, Alyssa named the whole litter,” Shelby interjected. Alyssa finally looked away from Emma, a blush on her cheeks, to find Shelby giving her a pointed look. “I wasn’t working the day they were born and could do nothing to stop her.” She bent down, picked up one of the puppies, and said in a baby voice, “I’m sorry the mean lady gave you such a dumb name, Corn Dog.”

Alyssa frowned. “That’s Milkshake.”

“Whatever.”

“You named them?” Emma asked, setting down Chicken Nugget and looking up at Alyssa. “That’s adorable.”

Alyssa blushed and shrugged as she said, “Yeah, well, they need names when they’re in the shelter, but people change them all the time once they’re adopted. You don’t have to stick with the current name.”

“No, they’re perfect!” Emma exclaimed. “I love dogs named after food.”

Alyssa’s eyes flicked down to Emma’s lap where she noticed Chicken Nugget had curled up and was starting to doze off. “Looks like someone’s comfortable.”

Emma glanced down at her own lap and her eyes glazed over like she was about to cry. “She’s perfect,” she whispered, her voice soft and full of awe.

“Yeah,” Alyssa agreed, looking not at the puppy, but at the beautiful girl holding her.

Shelby cleared her throat and Alyssa’s eyes shot up to find both Shelby and Barry looking at her knowingly. Barry wiggled his eyebrows at her and Alyssa rolled her eyes.

“If you’re interested in adopting her, I can go grab the paperwork.”

“Yeah,” Emma said, breathless. “Might as well before anybody else snatches her up.”

“Okay,” Alyssa said, leaning back. “You stay there, I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll help,” Shelby said, quickly following before Alyssa could get the chance to protest.

“What are you doing?” Alyssa asked. She walked up to the registration table and grabbed an adoption form and a pen. When she turned around, Shelby had a handful of cash that she held out to her. Alyssa raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

“I saw how you were looking at her,” Shelby said with a shrug. “Emma, right? Anyway, this should cover the puppy adoption fee.”

Alyssa glared at her. “Fuck off.” She brushed past her, ignoring Shelby’s devious laughter as she followed behind.

“Come on, it was pretty funny.”

“I’m ignoring you.”

“You love me.”

They returned to the puppies, to see a few other people gathered around now, looking at the puppies. Emma still held on tightly to Chicken Nugget, looking at her like she put the stars in the sky.

“Here,” Alyssa said, holding up the form and a pen. “I can hold her for you while you fill this out?” Emma nodded. She stood up and delicately placed Chicken Nugget into Alyssa’s outstretched arms. She had spent a lot of time with these puppies already, but it still made her heart flutter as Chicken Nugget yawned and snuggled into her arms. “The shelter covers the first round of vaccines and getting her fixed. We also provide complimentary beginner-level obedience training. And there’s a home visitation policy where we schedule two visits just to make sure the dog is acclimating to its new home.”

“You know, Alyssa could definitely do your home visits,” Shelby suggested. “She’s bonded with this litter the most, so Chicken Nugget is already used to her.”

“Yes!” Emma said, enthusiastically. Her eyes went wide and she blushed, backtracking when she came on a little too eager. “I mean, um, sure. If she— she likes you already and it would be good to see— I mean, yeah, that’s fine.”

Shelby and Barry exchanged another knowing look as Emma continued to fill out the form, blissfully oblivious.

It didn’t take long at all for Emma to finish filling out her form, pay the adoption fee, and soon enough she was ready to leave with Chicken Nugget in her arms. She turned to Alyssa. “I can’t thank you enough,” Emma said. “Seriously.”

Alyssa smiled. “I’m happy to help,” she said with a shrug. “And I— I’ll see you soon for the home visit.”

Emma nodded. “I can’t wait.”

Alyssa watched her walk off with a wistful sigh, oblivious of anything going on around her until Shelby cleared her throat. Alyssa glared at her.

Barry turned to Shelby. “If I give you my phone number, will you keep me updated on…” he looked pointedly at Alyssa and then looked back at Shelby, “all of that?”

“Sure,” Shelby agreed, handing him her phone. “Knowing Alyssa there probably won’t be anything to update for like, a year, but sure.”

“I hate both of you,” Alyssa groaned.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma knew that adopting a puppy would be like a full time job. She wasn’t unprepared. She had done all the research and everything she needed to prepare before she went to the adoption fair, but she was starting to think that there was nothing she could have done to prepare herself for adopting a dog, especially a dog like Chicken Nugget.

She had no problems housebreaking Nugget, but it was… pretty much everything else that was proving to be rather difficult. Alyssa wasn’t wrong when she had said that golden doodles are energetic and affectionate. That combined with the puppy energy wrapped up in the tiny little body was growing increasingly frustrating. She was loud and needy and Emma felt like she was the mother of a newborn child rather than a puppy.

Emma had taken a couple weeks to try and get Nugget settled in her new home and get her up to date on her vaccines. Now that she was comfortable and healthy, she wanted to start Nugget in those obedience classes as soon as possible before she turned into a nightmare puppy, and Emma could see her very easily turning into a nightmare puppy.

It was a snowy Saturday morning in January when Emma made her way to the shelter. Nugget was still small and Emma didn’t have time to get her a winter coat or booties for her little paws yet, so she zipped the puppy up in her own coat for the cold journey outside. Nugget’s head poked out under Emma’s chin, and she got a lot of strange looks on the subway.

Twenty minutes later, Emma stepped out of the cold and into the warm building of the animal shelter. She dusted the snow off her shoulders and walked up to the front desk to check in for training, but froze in her tracks when the person behind the desk was none other than Alyssa, looking at her with an amused smile on her face.

“Hi there,” Alyssa said. “Sharing body heat to keep warm?”

Emma chuckled and unzipped her jacket. She took Nugget out and placed her on the front desk. “I, uh, haven’t gotten her a sweater or anything because I know she’ll just outgrow it in a few weeks. Gotta make sure she doesn’t freeze out there.”

“Well, it’s as innovative as it is adorable.” Emma froze, blushing, unable to think of any sort of response. She watched as Alyssa reached out and scratched Nugget behind her tiny ears. “Hey sweet girl. How are you?”

Emma cleared her throat, grateful for the change in subject. “She’s adjusting really well,” she said. “But honestly, this obedience training couldn’t come soon enough.”

“Has she been difficult?” Alyssa asked, frowning.

“Nope,” Emma quickly defended. Alyssa raised an eyebrow; she clearly didn’t believe Emma. “Well, only a little,” Emma admitted. “She’s housebroken, but she has a hard time listening in regard to… everything else. I think she just gets so excited to see me or food or toys or anything, really, that all my words just go over her head.”

Alyssa nodded along as she listened to Emma explain. “Yeah, that’s a common problem with golden doodles. They’re very excitable. I think the training will really help.”

“It better,” Emma laughed.

“And Shelby’s a great teacher. You remember my coworker from the adoption fair?”

“Oh, yeah,” Emma nodded. “She was nice. But, um… are there any classes you teach?”

“Oh, no,” Alyssa shook her head. “I’m not a trainer. I’m not hard enough on the dogs. They’re just too darn cute.” She grinned at Nugget again and gave her a few more pats. Nugget nibbled playfully on Alyssa’s finger.

“Nugget, no!”

“It’s okay,” Alyssa laughed. “You kept her name?”

Emma’s cheeks turned red and she shrugged. “It was a good name. She looks like a little chicken nugget.”

Alyssa smiled at her and Emma didn’t want to look away. Her heartbeat pounded a little faster in her chest. Eventually, she glanced down at her watch to find there was only one minute until Nugget’s first obedience lesson started. “We should get going. Don’t want to be late.”

“Of course,” Alyssa nodded. “It’s right across the hall.” She gestured to the open door across from reception that was slowly filling with puppies and their owners.

“Thanks,” Emma grinned. “I’ll, uh, see you around.” She picked up Nugget and walked into the room.

Shelby somehow recognized Emma the moment she saw her. Emma was surprised when she waved to her and bounded over from across the room. “Hey! Emma, right?” Emma nodded. “I was wondering when I’d see you here.”

“Really?” Emma asked. “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d remember me, we only met briefly.”

“Well you left quite the impression on Alyssa, so you were pretty hard to forget.”

Emma’s cheeks flushed. “Did she mention me?”

“A little,” Shelby shrugged. “She’s glad French Fry found the perfect home.” Shelby patted Nugget on the head.

“Um, this is Chicken Nugget.”

“Right, right,” Shelby waved her off. “Anyway, line up. Class is about to start. Looks like there’s some room for you and Chicken Nugget by the door.”

Emma looked around at the rest of the room curiously, seeing other open spaces available, but shrugged and made her way over to the open spot by the door. She looked outside and noticed Alyssa watching her. Emma ignored the nervous blush that sprouted on her face and waved to Alyssa before turning around and waiting for training to start.

The first class was mainly centered on getting the dogs to focus on their owners and recognize commands. Emma would have probably been more successful in the training if she had been focused. Instead, her gaze kept drifting out the door to Alyssa at the front desk. Whenever she answered the phone or conversed with someone, her voice carried, drawing Emma’s attention like a hypnotic melody. After a moment of distraction, Emma would remember where she was and shake her head, looking back down at Nugget who was rolling around on the floor or chewing on her foot. Emma groaned. This was going to be a lot harder than she anticipated.

Occasionally, after glancing out the door at Alyssa, Emma would refocus and find Shelby watching her with a knowing smile. Emma just blushed and shook her head.

By the end of the first day of training, she was able to at least get Nugget to look at her, but other owners had already gotten their dogs to sit on command. Emma couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened at her lack of success in the training department.

“Good work today!” Shelby said to her as everyone began filing out of the room.

Emma shrugged. “Thanks. I didn’t think I was doing that great.”

“Well, everybody learns at their own pace. With a dog like Nugget, you made some good progress.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, she’s something else.” She looked down at Nugget, who was chasing her own tail.

“Was there anything that had you distracted today?” Shelby asked, an innocent look on her face.

Emma’s eyes went wide. “No! Nope— uh, no distractions. Everything was fine.” Shelby smirked at her, and Emma’s cheeks turned red. “Well, Nugget and I should be going. We’ll practice at home this week, I promise.”

Emma picked up Nugget and left the training room. She walked up to the front desk, hoping to say goodbye to Alyssa before she left, but when the person sitting there turned around she saw that it was no longer Alyssa.

“Can I help you?”

Emma quickly shook her head and forced a smile. “No, thanks.”

She turned around and saw Shelby watching her with a quirked eyebrow and her arms crossed. “Alyssa’s shift ended fifteen mintues ago,” she said. “If you were wondering.”

Emma scoffed and started backing out of the building. “What? No, I wasn’t— I just wanted to— bye Shelby!”

Before Emma turned around and walked out the door, she noticed as Shelby fished her cell phone out of her pocket and called someone. “Oh, Barry, do I have some updates for you…” she started after a moment.

Emma didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because she zipped Nugget back up in her jacket and slipped out the door.

* * *

Alyssa stood on the front steps to Emma’s apartment building, pacing back and forth, trying to calm the nerves that twisted around in her gut. It was just a standard home check-in they did for all adopted animals. She had done this dozens of times, so why was she nervous now?

Alyssa already knew the answer to that question, of course. It had everything to do with Nugget’s new owner and her dorky smile, gorgeous eyes, and all around awkward yet adorable demeanor. Alyssa would be lying if she said she wasn’t smitten from the moment she met Emma, that fateful rainy day outside the grocery store, and every interaction since then had only made her crush on the woman grow.

But now, Alyssa had to be professional. There was a puppy adjusting to a new home and Alyssa had to put Nugget first, before any personal feelings she may have. She clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking and finally got up the nerve to press the buzzer for Emma’s apartment.

She had texted Emma when she left the office, letting her know she would be by in about twenty minutes. Alyssa checked her watch and realized she was running a little late. She had been standing outside for ten minutes already. Whoops.

A moment later, the front door buzzed, unlocking, and Alyssa let herself inside and made her way to Emma’s apartment. Before Alyssa’s nerves got the best of her she knocked sharply at the door and held her breath.

Immediately, she heard excited barking coming from inside and giggled.

_ “Nugget, shh!” _ Emma’s voice carried through the closed door.

There was more shushing, the patter of dog paws against hardwood floor and the clink of a collar, then human footsteps. Alyssa was so caught up in listening to the scene play out behind closed doors that she was surprised when the door actually opened.

Emma stood, carrying Nugget in her arms. Emma looked a little frazzled; she was tired and her curly hair was unkempt, but her face lit up when she saw Alyssa standing on the other side of the door. Nugget was still a puppy, but had grown a bit bigger since the last time Alyssa saw her. She was still little, but was now big enough that Emma struggled to keep her restrained in her grasp. The moment Nugget saw Alyssa, she tried to jump from Emma’s arms and onto the new guest.

“Calm down, girl!” Emma said, and gave Alyssa an apologetic look. “Come in, come in.” She held the door open with her foot and gestured for Alyssa to walk past.

As soon as Alyssa stepped inside and was closer to Nugget, the dog tried again to squirm out of Emma’s arms. Emma kept her grip, but Nugget managed to wriggle her front paws free and half leapt onto Alyssa, resting her paws on her shoulder and aggressively began to lick her face.

“I am so sorry!” Emma cried out, pulling Nugget away and closing the door behind them.

Alyssa laughed and petted Nugget, rubbing her face between both hands and kissing her on the head. “It’s okay, she’s just excited.”

Once the door was closed, Emma set Nugget on the ground and she began to sprint circles around the room. She ran back with a toy in her mouth, only to disappear for a moment and reappear with a different toy. She evidently couldn’t decide what she wanted to play with because this happened four times as Alyssa and Emma walked inside.

Emma’s apartment was a studio, but it was pretty spacious. Her bed was in the back corner of the room, but there was plenty of space in front of it for her couch and coffee table and TV, and now for Nugget’s bed, crate, and all her toys. As Nugget ran freely, it appeared the feisty puppy had the run of the house.

“Have you socialized her much?”

Emma shrugged. “Not really. She’s not done with the obedience classes yet so those are the only other dogs and people she sees for now. I want her to finish that before I take her to the dog park so she’s not a menace.”

“Yeah, you can tell,” Alyssa laughed as Nugget tried to jump up on her, wagging her tail. “She’s got all this energy.”

Emma’s face fell. “Shit, am I doing something wrong?”

“No!” Alyssa quickly backtracked. “No, not at all. It’s smart to wait until she’s a little more well behaved before socializing her with other dogs. What about people?”

“Not really,” Emma shook her head. “I work close by so I can always come home and walk her, and she always tries to chase after people when I take her outside so I usually keep walks pretty short.”

“Try having some friends over,” Alyssa suggested. “Maybe one at a time to start, just so she can get used to being around more people than just you. She’s still young, so it’ll be easy to get her used to being around others.”

Emma nodded, listening intently. “Thanks,” she said. “Yeah, I— I’ll do that. And hey, you’re here so that’s a start.”

“She already knows me, though,” Alyssa said, laughing as Nugget walked up to her with a rope toy that about the same size as she was. She knelt down and grabbed the toy, tugging at it while Nugget held on with jaws of steel. “She’s got quite a grip.”

Emma chuckled. “Oh, yeah. I’ve started keeping my shoes on the top shelf of my closet.”

Alyssa ruffled the fur on Nugget’s head and stood up again. “So… should we get started?”

“Yeah!” Emma nodded. “Um, can I get you anything to drink?” she asked, wandering into the kitchenette and pouring a glass of water for herself. “Water or tea or coffee or anything? Actually, just water or tea because I don’t have coffee here. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t know why I said coffee. I mean, there’s a Starbucks a couple blocks away and I could run out and grab you something if you—”

“Emma,” Alyssa said, stopping her mid-rant. “Just water is fine, thanks.”

Emma poured them both a glass of water and they sat down at the small table. Emma nervously fidgeted with her coaster as she looked up at Alyssa in anticipation. “So how does this work? Do you have questions or do I have to fill out a survey or take a test or something?”

Alyssa giggled, and that seemed to ease Emma’s nerves a bit. “First of all, just relax. It’s nothing like that. It’s more of an informal check-in.”

Emma let out a breath she was holding. “Okay. Good. I’m terrible at tests.”

Alyssa reached her hand across the table and placed it on top of Emma’s in reassurance. “Hey, I can already see how great you are with her. You’re doing fine.”

Emma’s cheeks flushed and Alyssa bit her lip. She didn’t want to look away, but then there was a small bark and she felt paws on her knee. Alyssa reluctantly pulled her hand away and looked down to find Nugget trying to jump up onto her lap.

“Oh, come here, cutie.” Alyssa scooped the puppy into her arms and petted her as she turned back to Emma. Emma was still blushing as she watched Alyssa interact with Nugget. “So, I guess the logistical stuff first. Did you finish up her vaccines?”

Emma nodded. “Yes. I got those done before we started obedience training.”

“Good,” Alyssa nodded. “And has she been fixed?”

“No, not yet, but I made that appointment for next week.”

“And have there been any health concerns you’ve noticed since you adopted her? Is she eating and sleeping like normal?”

“I think so,” Emma said. “Nothing has raised any red flags so far. She seems perfectly healthy.”

“That’s good,” Alyssa said with a small smile. “And do you have any other concerns or questions? Anything I can help with?”

Emma hummed in thought for a moment. Alyssa looked down at the dog in her lap and realized that Nugget was chewing on her scarf. She laughed and wrenched her mouth open, pulling out the material. “Nothing that you can help with at the moment,” Emma said. “It’s just stuff like that. We have a few obedience classes left this week, so I’m hoping once we finish that she’ll actually listen to me.”

“Yeah, that’s always a problem for puppies,” Alyssa said. “But if it helps, you’re doing a great job so far.”

“Thanks,” Emma said. “It does help.” A silence fell between them and Emma started awkwardly tapping her fingertips against the table.

Alyssa took a sip of water. “And how are you?” she asked.

“Huh?” Emma blinked.

“I just mean, how have you been in this transition,” Alyssa explained. She knew how much work dogs were and as much as it seemed like Emma was the perfect dog owner, it was standard to ask. “You’ve got a new dog to look after so she’s probably taking up a lot of your time, and puppies are a lot of work. Some people who adopt dogs realize after a few weeks they’re in over their heads and send them back. Are you still happy with your decision?”

“Of course,” Emma said without hesitation. She glanced down at Nugget in Alyssa’s lap, trying to climb up onto the table and a fond smile graced her lips. “I couldn’t be happier. Yeah, she’s a lot of work, but do you see how freaking cute she is? It’s so worth it.”

Alyssa’s heart surged with affection. Obviously caring about dogs was a part of her job, but there was something about the care Emma put into every interaction with Nugget made her weak in the knees. She would love to raise a dog with Emma.

Alyssa froze as she realized the thought that had absently crossed her mind.  _ Shit,  _ she thought. Sure, she knew she had a crush on Emma, but she wasn’t supposed to catch actual  _ feelings. _

Alyssa cleared her throat and quickly scooted her chair back. “Well, I suppose that’s all I have for you today,” she said. Nugget jumped off her lap and padded over to Emma who picked her up. “Thanks for having me over. I’ll reach out about your next home visit after her training is finished.”

“Okay,” Emma said, a little confused as she followed Alyssa to the door. “Thanks for coming by. Nugget was really excited to see you.”

Despite herself, Alyssa hesitated before she grabbed the doorknob. Her face softened as she turned around and gave Emma and Nugget a soft smile. “Likewise.” She looked down at her feet and bit her lip, contemplating a moment. “You have my number,” she said. “Don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have any questions or need anything. I do this for a living so I’m kind of a dog expert.”

Emma nodded. “Thanks, Alyssa.”

She looked back at Emma and Nugget one more time, then Alyssa walked out the door and closed it behind her. She leaned against the door for a moment, smiling to herself when she heard a soft bark, the patter of paws against the floor, and the beautiful sound of Emma’s laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know what’s happening but I can’t stop writing this. I just love dogs, ok?  
> Pls comment and kudos and stuff. I love you 💛


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hand slipped....again.

It was far too early in the morning for Emma to be awake. The sky outside was still dark, the birds hadn’t even started chirping, but there was a pained whimpering coming from the foot of Emma’s bed that jolted her awake.

“Nugget?” Emma yawned, blindly reaching for her glasses. She sleepily rolled out of bed and crawled to Nugget’s crate.

Nugget had just been fixed yesterday and once Emma brought her home she was so lethargic. She refused to eat anything, only drank a little water, and went right to sleep. Emma looked at her, curled up in her bed with the plastic cone around her neck. Nugget was trying to lick her stitches but the cone prevented her from reaching them, and whenever she tried to reach around at a different angle she whined in pain.

The whimpering broke Emma’s heart.

“It’s okay, Nug,” Emma muttered. “C’mere.” She reached out to pat her on the head, hoping to comfort her little pup, but Nugget just growled and nipped at her fingers. “Hey! No! Bad dog.”

Nugget whimpered again and buried her face under her front paws.

“Aw, I’m sorry, girl.” Emma frowned. “Here, what if we get you out of there?”

She grabbed the edge of Nugget’s bed and started to drag it out of the crate, but as soon as the bed moved, Nugget growled at her again.

Emma sighed, exasperated and let go of the bed. “What do you want from me?”

Over the next half hour or so, Emma tried everything she could think of. She tried to bait Nugget out of the crate with her favorite toys and some treats. She moved her food and water closer to the crate and since Nugget hadn’t eaten last night, maybe she would realize she was hungry. She tried laying down on her stomach in front of the crate and talking to Nugget in a soothing voice to slowly ease her out.

Nothing worked, and Nugget only seemed to grow more and more agitated. Emma was trying not to panic, but this wasn’t like Nugget. What if something bad happened with the surgery? What if Nugget couldn’t move? What if Emma was doing something wrong?

Emma looked out the window and realized the sun was just beginning to rise. She figured she probably wouldn’t be getting back to sleep, but she wanted to do  _ something _ for Nugget.

In a panic and running out of options, Emma grabbed her phone and dialed the number of the one person she hoped could help. The line rang a few times before the call was answered and Alyssa’s groggy voice sounded in her ear.

_ “Hello?” _

“Shit, did I wake you up?” Emma asked. “Fuck. I’m so sorry. What time is it? I’m such an idiot, I didn’t even— I’ll just call back later.”

_ “Wait, wait…”  _ There was a rustling sound from the other line and a brief pause, then she spoke again, sounding at least a little more awake.  _ “Emma? What’s wrong? You sound worried.” _

Emma’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she felt her breath picking up. “I’m sorry, I—“ She couldn’t catch her breath.

_ “Hey,”  _ Alyssa muttered.  _ “Just breathe. Talk to me.” _

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Nugget just got fixed and she didn’t eat at all last night and now she’s whimpering and whenever I get near her she’ll just growl and try to bite me and I don’t know what to do!”

Alyssa was quiet for a moment.  _ “How long ago was her surgery?” _ she asked eventually.

“Yesterday,” Emma said. “I brought her home last night.”

Alyssa sighed.  _ “Okay, Emma, everything’s fine. Her pain medication probably just wore off. That’s why she’s agitated. She’ll probably be a little moody the next few days and might not be very hungry, but just make sure she eats something. You might have better luck with treats or wet food. Where is she right now?” _

“In her crate. She won’t come out.” Emma sniffled, still holding back tears.

_ “That’s fine,”  _ Alyssa said.  _ “Just let her be and she’ll come out on her own time. I promise, Emma, Nugget is fine.” _

Emma sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. The logical part of her brain knew everything was most likely fine, but when Nugget was whimpering like that, it was difficult to listen to logic. Hearing reassurance from Alyssa, who was much more knowledgeable about how these things worked, gave her at least a little relief.

Nugget whimpered again and Emma glanced over at her crate. A few tears fell down her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands.

“It’s just so scary,” Emma admitted, her voice barely a whisper. “She’s never like this. I know she’s hurting but I can’t do anything to help her.”

_ “I know it’s hard.”  _ Alyssa muttered. _ “The best you can do right now is wait it out. If her intense pain persists for more than a few days, take her back to the vet. They can prescribe some extra pain medication.” _

“But she’s hurting right now.”

_ “Emma, this is day one. It’s normal for her to be in pain. It sucks right now, but I promise you she’ll be back to her old self in a week or two.” _

“A week or two?!”

_ “That’s the typical recovery period. But Nugget’s a strong girl, maybe hers will be even faster.” _

Emma chuckled. “Maybe. I just can’t stand seeing her like…” She trailed off as she noticed Nugget finally crawling out of her crate. She slowly moved to where Emma sat on the floor. “Hey, honey,” Emma cooed and held out her hand. Nugget sniffed it, then licked her. Emma smiled. “Are you okay?”

She knew Nugget couldn’t answer, obviously, but the puppy trotted right up to Emma, climbed into her lap, and curled up.

_ “Is that Nugget?”  _ Alyssa asked.

“Yeah,” Emma breathed. Nugget’s breath quickly evened out and turned into soft snores. “Yeah, she’s asleep on my lap now.”

_ “See? She’s okay.” _

Emma sighed in relief. “Thank you, Alyssa,” she said. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

_ “Don’t worry about it,”  _ Alyssa said.  _ “And hey, now I can go for a run this morning, so thank you.” _

Emma fell silent, absently stroking Nugget’s soft fur, resting her hand on Nugget’s side to feel the rise and fall as she breathed in and out.

_ “Are you okay?” _

Emma pursed her lips. “Yeah,” she said finally. “I am now. Sorry I kinda freaked out.”

_ “You have nothing to apologize for. It was a perfectly reasonable freak-out.” _

Emma chuckled. “Still, I— I’ll let you go. Thanks again.”

_ “Anytime, Emma.” _

There was a moment where neither of them ended the call. Emma’s finger hovered over the button, but she realized Alyssa was still on the line. She almost didn’t want to end the call, content to just sit here, knowing Alyssa was there. Maybe Alyssa didn’t want to leave either.

Emma shook her head. No, she probably just assumed Emma was going to end the call. She cleared her throat. “Bye Alyssa,” she said, and hung up the phone.

Emma set her phone down next to her and looked at the sleeping puppy in her lap. Nugget was so comfortable, and there was no way Emma could move when she looked like that. Instead, she wriggled a little to get herself into a better position, leaned her head back against the side of the couch, and closed her eyes.

She fell asleep on the floor with Nugget curled up on her lap. It wasn’t comfortable at all, and her neck would be sore for the next three days, but Emma would do it all over again.

* * *

When Alyssa knocked on Emma’s door, she wasn’t immediately greeted by barking. Instead, there was a moment of silence, then footsteps, and the door opened with Emma standing on the other side.

“Hey!” Emma said with a bright smile that made Alyssa’s heart race in her chest. “Come in.” She held the door open and Alyssa stepped inside.

The moment the door closed behind her, Alyssa heard an excited panting as Nugget tried to jump up on her, wildly wagging her tail. Alyssa laughed and reached down to pet the dog.

“Nugget, down!” Emma commanded. Nugget immediately listened to her owner and stepped back, sitting down and looking up at Alyssa. Her tail still swung back and forth on the ground.

“Impressive,” Alyssa said. “Looks like the rest of those lessons helped after all.” She bent down to scratch Nugget behind the ears. “I feel like she gets bigger every time I see her.”

When she stood, Nugget was nearly up to Alyssa’s knees, almost twice the size she was on her last visit. “I think she’s almost full grown,” Emma said. “I was reading some stuff online. They’re like, mid-size dogs, right?”

“Yeah,” Alyssa said, grinning as Nugget licked her hand. “Her mother is only a little bigger than this.”

After giving Nugget a few pets, she stood up and turned back to Emma. Emma looked a lot more relaxed than the last time Alyssa stopped by to check on Nugget, which was a relief. It seemed she had grown more accustomed to having a dog around over the weeks, especially now that Nugget was more well-behaved.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Alyssa started, digging through her bag, “but I brought a little something for her.”

Emma gasped. “Did you hear that, Nug?” She looked down at her dog, excited. “You’ve got a present!”

Nugget barked and got to her feet. She wanted to jump up on Alyssa again, but with Emma watching, all she did was bounce in place. Finally, Alyssa retrieved what she was looking for and held it out to Emma. It was a rubber ball with holes in it.

“It’s kind of a chew toy,” Alyssa explained. “You can put like, peanut butter or treats in the holes and give it to her and it’ll keep her busy for a while.”

“Oh my god,” Emma laughed. “That’s incredible.” Emma rushed to her cupboard and pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. “This is going to be her first time trying peanut butter so this will be fun.”

Alyssa followed her into the kitchenette and handed her the toy. Nugget also followed closely behind, tail wagging and ears perked in curiosity. Emma messily filled the ball with peanut butter then knelt down and held it out to Nugget for her to sniff. Nugget eagerly tried to snatch the toy from her hands, but Emma held it out of reach and clicked her tongue.

“Sit.”

Nugget cocked her head and gave some of the cutest puppy dog eyes Alyssa had ever seen. She wasn’t sure how Emma was able to hold her glare when Nugget looked at her like that. After a brief stare-down, Nugget reluctantly sat and waited patiently.

“Good girl,” Emma said, and tossed the ball in the air.

Nugget leapt up to catch it, and was immediately enamored. She ran over to her bed with the toy in her mouth, curled up, and began to chew at the ball with a laser focus.

“Nugget, say thank you to Alyssa,” Emma said. Nugget ignored her.

“God, she’s adorable,” Alyssa laughed, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “So she’s fully recovered from her surgery?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, thank god. I think she was feeling better after about a week, but she still pretended to be in pain after that so I’d give her extra treats and let her sleep on the bed. It took awhile for me to catch on that she was just faking it.”

“She’s a smart one,” Alyssa mused. “What clued you in?”

“I got home from work early one day and found her on the counter trying to get into her treats,” Emma said. “She definitely couldn’t have made it up there if she was still in pain. Her treats are now on the top shelf of my closet along with my shoes.”

Alyssa giggled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Sounds like you’re going to have to puppy-proof this place.”

“Hey,” Emma defended. “She’s getting better! I started taking her on longer walks outside last week and she’s stopped trying to chase after everyone we pass on the street.”

“That’s good.”

“And we’re going to the dog park this weekend.”

“Ooh, are you letting her off the leash?” Alyssa asked. Emma nodded. “That’s brave, Nolan.”

“I trust her,” Emma said. The sound of a soft bark caught their attention. They both looked over at Nugget, who had somehow gotten her nose stuck in the toy. Emma frowned. “Sometimes.”

“I’ve got her,” Alyssa said with a laugh. She crossed the room and sat down next to Nugget’s bed. She pulled Nugget free of the toy and wiped a bit of peanut butter off her nose. Alyssa set the ball down in front of Nugget and she immediately started licking it again.

“Thanks,” Emma chuckled. “Um, make yourself comfortable. I can get you a glass of water?”

“Sure,” Alyssa said. She got up from her spot on the floor and sat down on the couch. From here, Alyssa could make out what was on her shelf. It was a mix of CDs and books, with a couple of movies thrown in there. A lot of the books were about music. Sheet music, music theory, how to play a certain instrument, and more. “You a big music fan?”

“Huh?” Emma looked up to see Alyssa studying her shelf. “Oh, yeah, I guess. I was a music major in college. I work at this little music shop in Hell’s Kitchen and give guitar lessons and stuff.” She made her way over to the couch and sat down next to Alyssa, setting a glass of water on the coffee table.

“That’s really cool. You play guitar?”

“Yeah, a little,” Emma shrugged, brushing it off. “What about you? How’d you end up working for the shelter?”

“I guess I sort of fell into it,” Alyssa said. “I had no idea what I wanted to do after college and I was having a hard time finding a job, so I did a lot of volunteer work. I’ve always loved animals so I started volunteering at the shelter and after a while they just brought me on full time.”

“Did you have any pets growing up?” Emma asked.

Alyssa shook her head. “Nah. My mom was pretty strict, but my friend Kaylee had a cat that would always end up using me as a bed whenever I slept over at her house. What about you?”

“No dogs, but my grandma has a small farm,” Emma said. “Some chickens, a bunch of ducks, two goats, and a cow. I always wanted a dog, but all the animals on the farm were enough work as it was.”

“You lived on a farm?” Alyssa questioned, surprised by the information. She never pegged Emma for a farm girl.

“Just for a few years,” Emma explained. “I couldn’t get to the city fast enough.”

Alyssa shook her head and chuckled in disbelief. “You are an interesting woman, Emma Nolan.”

Home visits were only supposed to take about half an hour at most, but talking to Emma was easy and Alyssa quickly lost track of the time. She never even got around to the questions she was supposed to ask for their check in. They kept getting distracted as one anecdote led to another. Alyssa was learning so much about Emma, and she never wanted to stop learning new things about her.

“I’m not a scientist, I don’t know  _ how _ it happened!” Alyssa said. “All I know is I looked away for two seconds and all of a sudden it had blown up.”

“Oh my god.” Emma leaned into Alyssa’s side on the couch as she wiped away tears of laughter. “I can’t believe you blew up peanut brittle. Did you have to use the chemical shower?”

“Yes! We weren’t even using any chemicals but I guess it’s protocol,” Alyssa grumbled. “My teacher shoved me under there so my clothes were both soggy  _ and _ covered in peanut brittle. I had to wear my cheer uniform the rest of the day.”

“You were a cheerleader too? God, this keeps getting better. Please, tell me more about high school Alyssa Greene.”

Alyssa wasn’t sure when they had stopped paying attention to Nugget. She occasionally noticed the dog trot by out of the corner of her eye, but she was too enraptured in her conversation with Emma to pay any mind, and it seemed that Emma was as well. They both assumed she was still preoccupied with trying to get all the peanut butter out of her new toy.

Emma was in the middle of an exciting tale of the time she was chased onto the roof by a goose when she stopped mid-sentence, looked over Alyssa’s shoulder, and her eyes went wide.

“Nugget, no!”

Curious, Alyssa turned around and saw Nugget standing frozen, wagging her tail, a pair of dark blue boxer-briefs clutched in her mouth. She looked back to Emma whose cheeks were bright red as she stood and marched up to the dog.

“Nugget, drop it!”

Emma reached out for the underwear and for a moment, Alyssa thought Nugget would let her grab them. She was wrong. At the last second, Nugget darted off, and the chase began.

Alyssa covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a laugh as Emma chased after the dog. Nugget ran in circles around the couch and the coffee table while Emma followed after her, yelling at her to drop it every few seconds.

Nugget tried to cut between the furniture, but Alyssa was able to snatch her and hold her still while Emma pried her mouth open and grabbed the underwear.

“Damn it, Nugget,” Emma groaned. Her cheeks were still flushed and she adamantly avoided Alyssa’s gaze. She turned around and walked over to her closet and opened it, throwing the underwear into her hamper. Alyssa was still trying not to laugh.

“I’m sure you’re never bored with her around,” Alyssa said.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Emma huffed.

Alyssa set Nugget down on the ground and grabbed her glass from the coffee table to take another sip of water only to realize it was empty. She checked the time on her watch. “Shit,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong?”

Alyssa shook her head. “Oh, nothing. I just didn’t realize how long I’ve been here. I was supposed to be back at work over an hour ago.”

“Over an hour?” Emma asked, also surprised by how long they had been talking. “Shit.”

“It’s fine, it’s not a big deal,” Alyssa said, gathering her things. “I am so sorry, though! I didn’t mean to take up so much of your day. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Hey, you’re always welcome here,” Emma said.

Alyssa looked up at her, a small smile on her lips. “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Emma shrugged awkwardly, blushing a little. “I mean. Nugget loves having you around.”

Alyssa grinned and looked down at Nugget who sat at her feet, wagging her tail. “Of course,” Alyssa said. She crouched next to Nugget and rubbed her head, scratching behind her ears. She gazed up at Emma and pursed her lips, hesitating before she muttered, “I really love hanging out with Nugget too.”

Emma watched her for a moment with a breathless smile until Alyssa stood to her feet and backed up toward the front door.

“I should get back to work.”

Emma nodded. “Um, thanks for stopping by,” she said with an awkward wave. “I’ll see you around.”

“Bye Emma,” Alyssa replied, and slipped out the door.

By the time Alyssa made it back to work she had burned through all the time for her lunch break, and then some, so she grabbed her food from the fridge and brought it to her desk to work while she ate. It wasn’t long later that Shelby strolled in, accompanied by none other than Barry Glickman. The two were laughing and chatting like old friends, but they both froze when they spotted Alyssa.

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at them. “What?”

“Welcome back, dude,” Shelby said. “You were out for a while. Where were you again?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes, knowing that Shelby already knew the answer to that question. “None of your business.”

“Weren’t you at a home visit with Emma Nolan? How long are those supposed to take again?”

“Half an hour,” Alyssa muttered under her breath, blushing.

“I know you invited me to lunch because you thought we could interrogate Alyssa when she got back before we left, but this is so much juicier,” Barry said. “When did you get back?”

Alyssa frowned and looked down at her food. “Ten minutes ago.”

Shelby squealed in delight.  _ “Please _ tell me you two hooked up!” she exclaimed. “Please, Alyssa, I’m begging you.”

“Oh my god,” Alyssa groaned, slamming her head onto her desk. “Shut up. We were just talking.”

“You were  _ just talking _ for almost  _ two hours?”  _ Shelby scoffed.

“Honestly, that’s even gayer,” Barry chimed in.

Alyssa grabbed a pen from her desk and chucked it across the room. It hit Shelby in the face.

“Hey!” Shelby rubbed her nose where the pen hit, but Alyssa smirked in satisfaction, content to ignore them both for the rest of the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kind words I just want to spread joy and puppies to all! Pls comment and kudos and stuff I’m like tinkerbell I need validation to live ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was very glad she left for work half an hour early when she decided to bring Nugget along with her. Normally it only took fifteen minutes or so for Emma to get to the music shop she worked at, but with Nugget tagging along, Emma feared it would take more than twice as long.

Nugget was a curious dog; it was one of the things Emma loved about her. She stopped to sniff at  _ everything  _ they passed. Trees, people, other dogs, fire hydrants, bicycles, garbage. If Nugget noticed it, she was going to stop and sniff.

Emma waited impatiently, tapping her foot, as Nugget stopped to smell the remnants of a pizza that had been discarded on the ground. She was about to take a bite when she seemed to catch a whiff of something else. Nugget sniffed at the air for a moment, then took off running down the street, tugging Emma along with her as she clutched onto the leash for dear life.

“Nugget!” Emma cried out. “Stop!”

Nugget was surprisingly strong as Emma was dragged behind, barrelling through the crowds and apologizing whenever she bumped into someone. Nugget charged down the street, around the corner, and into the open door of a coffee shop.

“Nugget!” Emma panted, out of breath from chasing her dog. Nugget ran up to someone waiting for their order and pounced on them from behind. “I am so sorry! Bad girl, Nugget!”

The person turned around and Emma realized it was Alyssa, looking very surprised to be suddenly accosted by a dog. Her face softened immediately when she recognized Emma. “Hey there, stranger,” she said. Nugget was still trying to jump up onto Alyssa, whining for attention. Alyssa laughed and patted her on the head. “And hello to you too.”

“Alyssa!” Emma gasped. Alyssa looked gorgeous as ever, and Emma was caught off-guard by her presence. “Um, hi!”

“What happened here?”

Emma groaned and tugged on Nugget’s leash, pulling her away from Alyssa and having her sit. “I don’t even know. We were walking and she smelled something and just took off running. I was just along for the ride.”

Alyssa blushed and looked down at Nugget again, avoiding Emma’s eyes. “Do… do you want a tea or anything? My treat.”

“Oh, no thank you,” Emma shook her head. She looked pointedly down at Nugget.  _ “We _ actually have to get going, but it was nice bumping into you.”

“Yeah,” Alyssa said quickly. “Yeah, you too.”

Emma made no move to leave, though. Her heart raced in her chest. Maybe Nugget brought her here for a reason. Emma cleared her throat. “Actually,” she started, “um, can I ask you something? Before I go.”

Alyssa nodded. “Of course.”

Emma met Alyssa’s bright, hopeful eyes and there was a pull of longing in her gut. She was falling hard, and all of a sudden the bit of courage she had managed to scrounge up just a moment ago disappeared. “Uh,” she said, dumbly.

She quickly looked away, hoping it would be easier to gather her thoughts when she wasn’t lost in Alyssa’s eyes. Emma awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, grasping blindly for something to say. She looked down at Nugget, sitting there patiently, wagging her tail.

“I’m, uh, bringing Nuget into work today,” she said. “I brought her bed yesterday and my boss said it’s fine if she just hangs out there for a bit as long as she doesn’t bother the customers. So we’re trying it out and… I guess, um, do you have any tips? Or advice?”

“Oh,” Alyssa said. Her shoulders slumped a little and she smiled as she looked at Nugget. “Well she’s been pretty well-behaved lately, but taking her into a new environment might be stressful. You said you live pretty close to your work, right?” Emma nodded. “Don’t keep her there the whole day. See how she acts, if it’s manageable, how tired she gets, just to get a feel for it, and bring her home after a few hours. Just keep an eye on her and when you think she’s ready, let her stay the whole day.”

Emma nodded as she listened intently. “Yeah, that’s a really great idea,” she said. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Emma gave her an awkward smile and tugged on Nugget’s leash, encouraging her to stand. “Come on, girl.”

She was about to turn around when Alyssa’s voice stopped her. “Emma?”

“Yeah?”

Alyssa tucked her hair behind her ear and fidgeted for a moment. “If you want, I can swing by the shop sometime?” she said with a shrug. “I can… um, check on Nugget? See how she’s doing.”

“Yeah,” Emma said. “Yeah, that would be really great. For Nugget. She always loves seeing you”

“Cool,” Alyssa said. “Maybe next week?”

“Sure, yeah,” Emma nodded. “I’ll— I’ll text you the address.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you—”

“Order for Alyssa?”

They both turned to look at the barista, holding out a drink. Alyssa grabbed it and thanked him.

“Dogs on the patio, ma’am,” he said, looking at Emma and Nugget.

“Right, of course!” Emma exclaimed. “Sorry, we were just leaving.” She tugged on the leash and Nugget trotted out of the shop behind her, closely followed by Alyssa.

“I have to get to work,” Alyssa said when they stepped outside.

“Me too.”

They stood next to each other on the busy sidewalk, pushed a little closer together by passers by paying no mind to them. Emma met her eyes and chuckled awkwardly.

“Um, it was good to see you,” Alyssa muttered. After a moment’s hesitation, Alyssa wrapped her arms around Emma and hugged her. Her chin rested on Emma’s shoulder and her hands were gentle on her shoulders and Emma felt like she couldn’t breathe. She regained her wits just in time to hug back for a moment.

“I’ll see you next week,” Emma said as they leaned back.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t step too far apart because, while they hugged, Nugget had grown impatient and wandered in circles, wrapping the two up in her leash.

“Nugget!” Emma groaned

Alyssa laughed as they stumbled together. She grabbed Emma by the arms to brace herself and stepped out of the leash prison. “Next week,” Alyssa said, an amused smile on her lips. “Bye, Emma.” And with a wave, Alyssa disappeared into the crowd.

“Bye Alyssa,” Emma said, breathless, gazing after Alyssa where she disappeared until a soft bark drew her from her reverie.

She glared down at Nugget who sat there, wagging her tail innocently and began to untangle her own legs from the leash.

“You’re a real pain in my ass sometimes, did you know that?”

Nugget just cocked her head and barked again.

* * *

“Where are you heading?”

Alyssa froze. Her hopes of sneaking out early undetected were thwarted when Shelby stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door. “I told you I was leaving early.” She tried to step past, but Shelby followed, staying in front of her.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Shelby crossed her arms over her chest and quirked an eyebrow at Alyssa.

“Please move.”

“Come on, I know you’re going to see Emma! Just admit it. You put on makeup today and you did your hair and you can’t stop smiling,” Shelby pointed out. “You’re finally going on a date?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “We are not going on a date! She’s been bringing Nugget into work and wanted me to check up on her and see how she’s doing at the shop.”

Shelby frowned. “Damn. I knew it was too good to be true.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket, took it off speaker, and held it up to her ear. “Sorry, Barry. False alarm.”

Alyssa pushed past Shelby while she was distracted, flipping her off on the way out the door.

The shop Emma worked at was small and quaint; stepping inside, Alyssa immediately felt a welcoming warmth and she knew why Emma loved her job so much. There was a small music selection of CDs and records at the front of the shop, but further into the store there was a variety of instruments and equipment for sale.

A tall blonde woman stood at the front counter, reading a book. Next to the counter was a large dog bed, empty. The woman looked up from her book and smiled. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Emma Nolan?”

The woman’s face lit up. “You must be Alyssa,” she said. Alyssa was a little surprised the woman knew her name, but shrugged it off. Emma must have mentioned she was stopping by. “I’m Angie. Emma just took Nugget out for a walk, but they’ll be right back. Feel free to look around. Holler if you need anything!”

“Thanks.” Alyssa smiled and wandered further into the shop.

She browsed rows of guitars until she came across a grand piano display. There was a sign on the piano that read, ‘Feel free to use! Be considerate of others!’ Alyssa looked around. The shop was relatively empty so she shrugged and hopped into the seat.

It had been years since Alyssa had sat at a piano bench, and she wracked her brain for something to play until her fingers found the keys for the first song that came to her mind. She was a little rusty and had to start over a couple times, but soon enough she got into a groove and, for a very basic song, it didn’t sound half bad. She hardly noticed when the front door chimed until a few seconds later, she heard a dog barking along with the song.

Alyssa stopped playing and turned in her seat to find Nugget, paws up on the piano bench, panting happily.

“Heart and Soul?” Alyssa looked up and noticed Emma a few feet behind Nugget, leaning against a pillar, watching her.

Alyssa shrugged. “It was the first thing I thought of.”

“I didn’t know you play piano,” Emma said, stepping away from the pillar. She tapped Nugget gently, who took her paws off the piano bench and sat down.

“Oh, I don’t,” Alyssa dismissed. “I took lessons as a kid, but I haven’t touched a piano in ten years.”

“Sure looked like you were playing piano. It’s muscle memory, you never really forget,” Emma said. She slid onto the bench next to Alyssa, on her right, and looked at her. “Well, don’t let me stop you. Keep going.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes, but turned back to the keys. It took her a moment to restart, but soon enough she was comfortably playing again. When the song looped back to the beginning, she kept going, and to her surprise Emma started tapping out the high notes of the song next to her.

Alyssa looked to her side and found Emma grinning at her. She blushed and fumbled some of the keys, so she quickly turned back to look at her hands.

They continued on when the song looped again, and this time Nugget joined in, barking along with no rhyme or reason. Emma and Alyssa exchanged another look and both burst out laughing. Their playing was derailed and when they stopped, Emma turned around to shush Nugget.

“What, so you play piano too?” Alyssa asked when she stopped laughing.

“Only a little,” Emma replied. “I’ve picked up some stuff here and there.”

“What other instruments in here can you play?”

Emma looked around at the store. “How much time do you have for me to list them all?”

Alyssa shoved her playfully. “Cocky.” She glanced down at Nugget, still watching them and wagging her tail. Alyssa patted her head affectionately and Nugget licked her hand. “Does she always sing along?”

Emma shook her head. “She loves the piano but she usually just watches.” She gently bumped her shoulder against Alyssa’s. “I think she was just excited to see you.”

“She’s always excited to see me,” Alyssa laughed.

Emma pouted. “I’m starting to think my dog likes you more than she likes me.”

“Can you blame her?” Alyssa asked, joking.

Emma was quiet for a moment, watching Alyssa with a curious affection behind her eyes that made Alyssa’s heart feel light. “No,” she muttered.

Alyssa couldn’t tear her gaze away. As their shoulders brushed and Alyssa’s heart pounded in her ears, she couldn’t help but glance down at Emma’s lips, soft and pink and quirked up in a small smile. When she looked back up, Emma’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes were dark and for a brief moment, Alyssa let herself hope.

A door at the back of the shop flew open with a loud bang. Emma and Ayssa both turned their heads to the source of the noise. A taller man walked out of a small room with a teenager.

“If you just practice those vocal warm ups we worked on before your audition, Juilliard would be fools not to accept you,” the man said. “I should know, because that’s where  _ I _ learned them.”

The teenager thanked him and left the store, and then the man finally noticed Emma and Alyssa at the piano.

“Hello! I don’t believe we’ve met.” He walked up to Alyssa and held out his hand for a handshake. “I am Trent Oliver, owner of this fine establishment and top notch vocal coach.”

“Alyssa Greene,” she said as she took his hand.

_ “Oh!” _ Trent’s eyes widened in realization when he heard her name and looked to Emma. “That was  _ today! _ It’s lovely to meet you, Alyssa, we’ve heard so much about you.”

“Really?” Alyssa asked.

“Hey, Trent, don’t you have that thing to do?” Emma asked.

“What thing—” Emma glared at him. “Oh yes. Yes, I see. Um, the Thing that I have is… over there.” Trent grinned awkwardly and joined Angie at the front counter.

They were left relatively alone again and Alyssa was suddenly nervous. She cleared her throat and looked down to Nugget again and started stroking her head. “So you’ve been bringing her in for about a week?” she asked, eager to find a subject.

Emma nodded. “Yeah. She adjusted pretty quick, she loves it here. She’ll just curl up in bed by the front counter and let customers pet her.”

“What a ham,” Alyssa remarked.

“It’s like she’s fully aware she’s the cutest dog on the planet and lives to bask in the glory of that honor.”

“Understandable.” Alyssa turned back to Emma. “So you haven’t had any problems bringing her here? Anything I can help with?”

Emma shook her head. “No, she’s been an angel. A narcissistic angel.” Alyssa laughed and scratched under Nugget’s chin. One of her hind legs began to thump against the floor. “Ooh, you found her spot.”

Alyssa avoided Emma’s gaze as she continued to pet Nugget. “So, if you don’t need anything, why am I here?”

“Hey, you’re the one who offered to stop by,” Emma pointed out.

“True,” Alyssa muttered. “You… you just seemed concerned about bringing Nugget into work. I wanted to help.” She glanced up and Emma smiled at her.

“Well, I appreciate it,” Emma said, then paused. “I mean— Nugget appreciates… we both appreciate it. How can I thank you?”

_ How about dinner? _ was what Alyssa  _ wanted _ to say. But when Emma looked at her, all Alyssa could see was everything she’s ever wanted, all her hopes for the future, and that scared her. She was at a loss for words, so instead she shook her head and looked down at her lap. “No need to thank me,” she said. “It’s, uh, part of the job.”

Emma’s smile seemed to falter for a moment. “Right.”

There was a tense pause and after a moment Alyssa stood from the piano bench, feeling awkward and full of regret. “Um, I guess I’ll head out,” she said. “Let you get back to work.”

Emma nodded, looking down at the piano keys. “Yeah, sure.”

Alyssa pursed her lips, unsure of how to fix the tension. “Hey,” she called out. Emma looked up. “I’ll see you, okay?”

Finally, Emma gave her a small smile. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I’m sure Nugget will make sure of that.”

Alyssa waved goodbye, and as she left the shop, she hoped that she hadn’t just ruined everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, sorry. I had to add a little angst otherwise where’s the fun in that? This will probably be my last update until next week, I’m pretty busy this weekend. But please keep leaving comments I love reading them and I promise I will be back at it very soon!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has to go out of town for a little while, so Alyssa watches Nugget for her.

Nugget bounded excitedly up to Emma and her student as they walked out of the lesson room and into the main shop area, guitar class finished for the day. “Did you miss me, Nug?” Emma asked, patting her on the head.

The student, Claire, looked up at Emma with wide eyes filled with awe. “Can I pet her?”

Emma nodded. “Of course. She would love that. She really likes it when you scratch her behind the ears.”

Claire nodded in delight and reached out a hand. Nugget sniffed at the tips of her fingers and she giggled.

Emma’s phone rang, startling her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw that her grandma was calling. She frowned. “Make sure to work on those scales I taught you,” Emma said to Claire before she walked into the break room to answer her phone. “Hey gran. What’s up?”

_ “Can’t I call my granddaughter when I miss her?” _

“You just called me yesterday, I’m assuming you have something to tell me.” Emma was met with only silence from the other line. “Am I wrong?”

She could practically hear her grandma rolling her eyes all the way from Indiana.  _ “Fine,” _ she grumbled.  _ “But trust me, honey, it’s nothing to worry about.” _

“I wasn’t worried until you said that. Gran, what did you do?”

_ “Nothing!  _ her grandma defended. Emma scoffed.  _ “Nothing on purpose. I just took a little tumble last night, and now I’m at the hospital. Apparently they need to schedule me for a hip replacement. Again, nothing to worry about! It’s just a standard—” _

“What?” Emma gasped. “When?”

_ “I just wanted you to know because last time I didn’t tell you I had a mild stroke and you were very upset about that—” _

“Gran!”

_ “They had a cancellation at the hospital so they’re scheduling the surgery for tomorrow. I’ll stay to recover for a day or two and then they’re sending me home.” _

“Wait, but Greg’s still on vacation, isn’t he? He doesn’t get back for another week.”

_ “Emma, honey, I told you not to worry.” _

“Well you need someone to take care of you! Gran, you’re having a hip replaced, you can’t just walk around and tend to the farm like usual! You’ll need help walking to the bathroom!”

_ “Your cousin will be back on Tuesday, it’s really no trouble—” _

“No, gran!” Emma groaned, frustrated. “Shit, give me a couple hours. I’ll book a flight. I’m sure Trent will give me some time off, I’ll just need to find someone to watch Nugget.”

_ “You could always bring her, you know I’ve been dying to meet the little rascal!” _

“So you can trip over her and have to get your hip replaced again? No.” Emma buried her face in her hand and sighed. “As much as I’d love to bring her out to the farm, I’ll wait until you’re at full strength for that.”

_ “Fine.” _

“Hey, don’t give me shit about this, you’re the one who was about to get a hip replaced  _ by yourself!” _

_ “You don’t have to come all the way out here, Emma—” _

“Bye, gran,” Emma huffed. “I’ll call you once I have a flight.” She hung up the phone before her grandmother could get in another word.

It didn’t take much for Trent to agree to give Emma the last minute time off, and she made sure to send out a notice to all her students that lessons were cancelled for the rest of the week. It was, unfortunately, a bit more difficult for her to find someone to watch Nugget for her.

Trent’s building didn’t allow dogs, and Angie’s son was apparently afraid of dogs. She wanted Nugget to be with someone she was comfortable with, but Nugget didn’t know a whole lot of humans. Emma didn’t want to leave her with a stranger or at one of those pet hotels, so she was quickly exhausting her options.

Well, she had one option left. Alyssa.

They hadn’t spoken much the past couple of weeks. Things had been a bit awkward since that day Alyssa came to the music shop, much to Emma’s disappointment. Emma wasn’t sure if it would be too presumptuous to call, or if Alyssa even wanted to hear from her. But Alyssa had said a long time ago that she was more than happy to help out with things regarding Nugget, so it was worth a shot. And, well, it was kind of an emergency.

When Emma arrived back at home, she called Alyssa.

Nugget seemed to sense Emma’s nervous energy and walked up to the couch, sitting in front of her with a toy in her mouth. Emma felt her anxiety ease a little as she scratched Nugget behind the ears, then grabbed the toy from her mouth and tossed it across the room. Nugget took off running after it.

Then, Alyssa picked up and Emma remembered why she was so nervous.

_ “Hello?” _

Emma sighed in relief upon hearing Alyssa’s voice. At least Alyssa wasn’t avoiding her. “Hey,” Emma breathed. “Um, it’s Emma.”

Alyssa grew quiet for a moment.  _ “Hi,”  _ she answered, eventually.  _ “Uh, how are you?” _

“Good!” Emma said quickly.

_ “Good,”  _ Alyssa repeated.

There was a weird tension between them and Emma almost changed her mind and hung up the phone just to escape the awkwardness, but she forced herself to speak up before she lost her nerve. “Er, I’m actually calling because I need to ask you something.”

_ “Is Nugget okay?”  _ Alyssa asked, voice suddenly worried.

“Oh, yeah, she’s fine!” Emma reassured her. “My grandmother on the other hand…”

_ “Oh my god, Emma, what happened, are you—” _

Emma winced at her own inability to say the right words. “Shit, sorry, um. My grandma’s fine. Well, mostly fine. Let me start over.” Emma took a deep breath and then rambled into the phone, “Apparently my grandma fell last night and now she needs a hip replacement and she’s having the surgery tomorrow but my cousin who’s usually there to take care of her and help out around the farm is on vacation in Europe right now and she says she’ll be fine but I don’t believe her so I need to go to Indiana for like a week until my cousin is back, but the problem is I don’t have anyone to watch Nugget and I don’t want to leave her with strangers or like, in one of those pet hotels because I’ve heard stories about dogs having traumatic experiences with those and—”

_ “Hey, slow down. Of course I can watch Nugget for you.” _

Emma frowned, backtracking her thoughts. “But I didn’t even ask you yet.”

Alyssa chuckled, the sound ringing in Emma’s ears, imprinting onto her brain.  _ “Emma, I would love to watch her for a little while.” _

Emma pursed her lips. “Are you sure?”

_ “Yes.” _

“It’s just for a week. I promise I’ll be back Tuesday night.”

_ “Em, seriously, it’s no trouble.” _

Emma was thankful they were on the phone right now and Alyssa couldn’t see the blush that colored her cheeks at the affectionate nickname. She let out a breath of relief. “Alyssa, I owe you so big for this. Thank you.”

_ “You don’t have to thank me,”  _ Alyssa muttered. It was quiet for a moment, until Alyssa cleared her throat and spoke again.  _ “When do you leave?” _

“I booked a flight for tomorrow morning.”

_ “Okay. You can drop her off at my place tomorrow before you take off.” _

Emma shook her head, still a bit in disbelief that Alyssa would so readily help her out like this, especially when they hadn’t spoken much the past few weeks. “You’re an angel, Alyssa Greene.”

_ “That’s what I’m here for.” _

“Um, I should go. I have to pack a bag and book a flight and like, a million other things.”

_ “Is there anything I can do?” _

“No, no,” Emma shook her head. “Seriously, you’re already doing enough. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

_ “Yeah, of course. Um—” _

“Ok, bye, Alyssa!” Emma quickly ended the call before Alyssa could finish her thought. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “So dumb.”

Nugget trotted over and jumped up on the couch next to Emma. She put her paws on Emma’s knee and looked up at her, wagging her tail.

“Don’t judge me,” Emma grumbled. “You’re not good at talking to pretty girls either. Because you can’t talk. Check and mate.”

* * *

Alyssa woke up bright and early, before the sun was even up. She had already stress-cleaned her apartment the night before, but walked around doing one last spot check, shoving clutter into the closet, scrubbing already clean dishes. It was pointless, really, seeing as she would be dog sitting for the next week and her apartment would just turn into a mess again regardless.

It would be Emma’s first time seeing her apartment, and though she probably wouldn’t stop by for more than a few minutes, she wanted to make a good impression. She texted Emma her address about twenty minutes ago, so they could be arriving any minute. Shit, should she make breakfast? Or coffee? No, Emma didn’t like coffee, and she would probably be in a hurry to get to the airport anyway. Maybe tea? Alyssa didn’t drink tea very often, but maybe she could find something to offer.

As Alyssa sifted through her cupboard, trying to find if she had any tea bags leftover from her mother’s last visit, there was a knock at the door.

Alyssa darted to the front door and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.  _ It’s just Emma and Nugget,  _ she told herself. She opened the door.

Emma stood outside, at least she assumed it was Emma; she was carrying a few different bags and a dog bed in her arms, while she clutched the handle of a crate that held Nugget inside.

“Do you need some help?” Alyssa asked. She propped open the door, wide enough for Emma to step through.

“Nah, I got it,” Emma muttered. “The subway was a nightmare, though.” She marched inside, then promptly ran into the side of the couch, unable to see where she was walking. The dog bed fell from the pile in her arms and Alyssa reacted quickly and caught it with a swift motion. Emma gave an awkward grin. “Uh, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Alyssa laughed. She set the bed down next to the couch.

“Er, where do you want this?” Emma asked, gesturing to the rest of the stuff in her arms. “Sorry, Nugget’s a spoiled dog. She has a lot of shit.”

“Wherever is fine.” Emma looked around, then set the bags down on the coffee table and found a spot for Nugget’s crate in the corner of the room. “Um, do you want some tea?” Alyssa offered, then, remembering she hadn’t actually found any tea yet, added, “I think I have a bit somewhere.”

“No, it’s fine, thanks,” Emma said. She opened the door of Nugget’s crate and the dog stepped out and stretched her legs. “I should probably get to the airport.” She stretched her arms over her head.

“Okay,” Alyssa nodded.

“Thank you again,” Emma muttered.

“It’s no problem, really.”

Emma got on her knees and patted the ground next to her. Nugget came trotting over and sat down, looking at Emma expectantly. “Be good for Alyssa, okay? Don’t drive her as crazy as you drive me sometimes.” Nugget stared blankly at her, the words probably going in one ear and out the other, but Emma looked at her like she was the most important thing in the universe. She held Nugget’s face in both hands and kissed her on the top of the head. Alyssa watched them with an affectionate smile. “I’ll see you in a week, buddy. I love you.”

Nugget licked her cheek. Emma giggled and wiped her face as she stood up. She started backing away toward the door, but glanced down at Nugget again, hesitant to leave.

“Hey,” Alyssa said, “I’ll take care of her, okay?”

Emma nodded and gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I trust you. I’m just gonna miss her.”

“Yeah, she’s a loveable one.”

“That she is.” Emma looked back at the door, then turned to Alyssa again. “Um, she eats at eight in the morning and four in the afternoon,” she explained. “Take her out at six and don’t let her eat after that otherwise she’ll have to take a shit in the middle of the night.”

Alyssa nodded, suppressing a laugh. “Got it.”

“Don’t let her drink water past nine. And she can’t sleep without her sloth toy, so if you hear her crying make sure she has that.”

“Of course.”

“She has this really annoying habit of waking up at four-thirty in the morning, but if you just ignore her she’ll fall back asleep.”

“Understood.”

“And—”

“Emma,” Alyssa cut her off. “I’ve got it. She’s in good hands.”

“I know, I know,” Emma sighed. “I’ve just never left her for this long before.”

She stepped up to Emma and hesitantly reached out. When Emma didn’t back away, Alyssa grabbed her by the arms, hoping to reassure her. “I promise you, she’s going to be fine. If you want to check in, feel free to call anytime and I’ll have her say hi.”

Emma laughed softly and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. Then, she pulled Alyssa into her arms for a brief hug. Alyssa didn’t even have time to react before it was over.

“Thank you,” Emma muttered. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Text me when your flight lands?”

Emma nodded. “Will do.” She backed up to the door and gave a mock salute, then stepped outside. “See you next week.”

“Bye, Emma.”

Emma closed the door behind her, and Alyssa was left staring after her until a soft bark got her attention. Nugget sat at her feet, watching Alyssa, wagging her tail.

“Just you and me now, huh?” Nugget cocked her head and barked again. Alyssa laughed. “Come on, let’s get you comfortable.”

Nugget adjusted surprisingly well to staying with Alyssa, and she quickly had the run of the house. For the most part, her bed sat unused on the floor while Nugget had already claimed her favorite spot on the couch, right in the middle. She happily joined Alyssa on her morning runs, and when Alyssa got home from work, Nugget’s toys would be strewn all around the apartment.

The first night, though, was hard. Alyssa put Nugget to bed in her crate out in the living room, but left her bedroom door open so she could keep an ear out just in case. Not ten minutes after Alyssa climbed into bed herself, she heard a soft whimpering coming from the living room.

Alyssa paused her reading and frowned. She set her book down on the bedside table and climbed out of bed. In the living room, she walked up to Nugget’s crate and sat down in front of it.

“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked.

She peered inside and noticed that the sloth toy that Emma had mentioned was nestled under Nugget’s chin, so that wasn’t the problem. She opened the door and Nugget immediately trotted out, curling up on Alyssa’s lap.

“Hey,” she cooed, petting her on the head. “You’ve gotta go to sleep.”

Nugget whined again. Alyssa frowned.

“Do you miss Emma?” It’s not like Nugget could answer, but Alyssa knew she was right. “Come here. What if we bring your crate into my room?”

She nudged Nugget off her lap, then picked up the crate and brought it into her room. She opened the door and ushered Nugget inside. Nugget reluctantly obeyed, but as soon as the door was closed, she started whimpering again.

Alyssa sighed. “What do you want?”

Nugget nudged at the crate door. Alyssa opened it again and Nugget trotted out and jumped up onto Alyssa’s bed. Alyssa gasped.

“Hey! That’s my bed, not yours.”

Alyssa glared at Nugget, but Nugget was giving her the most adorable pout, her eyes wide and glistening. The glare slowly fell from her face. She really had a soft spot for sweet dogs.

“Fine,” Alyssa muttered. She crawled back into bed, getting under the covers, and Nugget immediately curled up at her side. “You can stay here until you fall asleep, but then I’m putting you back in your crate.”

Alyssa and Nugget both quickly fell asleep and they stayed like that the entire night.

Nugget slept in Alyssa’s bed most nights. Only about half the time did she remember to put Nugget in her crate after she fell asleep.

Nugget had been staying with Alyssa for a few days already, and she still hadn’t heard from Emma except for the occasional text. She was probably busy, so Alyssa tried not to linger too much on that thought. Instead, to distract herself, she invited Shelby over for a movie night.

It was a terrible idea, really.

“I can’t believe you’re watching her dog.”

“I’m just doing a favor for a friend.”

Shelby scoffed. “Please. You’re whipped and you’re not even together yet.”

Alyssa glared at Shelby and shoved popcorn into her mouth. Then, Nugget jumped up on the couch right in between them, pushing them both to the side so she could claim her spot in the middle.

“And you just let her up on the couch like this?!” Shelby gasped. “The dog trainer in me is dying, Alyssa.  _ Dying.” _

“Oh, come on. She’s well behaved.” Alyssa turned to look at Nugget. “Nugget, down,” she said firmly.

Nugget cocked her head and wagged her tail.

Alyssa sighed. “She’s too cute. I can’t compete with that.”

Shelby rolled her eyes. “Nugget, down.” She glared at the dog for a beat, and finally, Nugget jumped off the couch and curled up in her bed.

“But look at how sad she is now.”

“Greene, you’re hopeless.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes, and went back to watching the movie. Unfortunately, a few seconds later, her phone rang. Alyssa looked down at the caller ID to see that Emma was calling her on FaceTime. Her face lit up in a smile.

Shelby caught sight of the caller ID too and scoffed, “Here we go.”

Alyssa flipped her off, then answered the call. “Emma, hey!”

Emma’s face appeared on the screen in front of her, looking a little tired, but overall happy.  _ “Hi! Sorry I haven’t been able to call yet. Things have been crazy over here. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” _

“Oh, no, I’m not busy,” Alyssa said. Shelby gasped, mock offended, and gestured to herself. Alyssa flipped her off again, out of view of the camera. “How’s your grandma?”

_ “She’s good, she sends her love.” _

Alyssa scrunched her eyebrows together, confused. “I’ve never met your grandma.”

_ “I know,” Emma said, shrugging awkwardly. “I’ve mentioned you before and I told her you were watching Nugget, so she wanted to— I mean— she just says hi.” _

Next to Alyssa, Shelby’s eyes went wide. She pointed dramatically at the phone and mouthed something, but Alyssa did her best to block her out. “Well, tell your grandma I say hi as well.”

Emma nodded. “She’s  _ recovering pretty fast. Not fast enough to feed the chickens herself though, no matter how much she thinks she’s fine.” _

Alyssa laughed. “She sounds stubborn.”

_ “Oh, she is. Anyway, um, how’s Nugget? I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble.” _

“She’s been great,” Alyssa said. “No problems at all. Absolute angel.” She patted the couch next to her. “Nugget, come here!” Nugget got up from her bed and jumped up onto the couch again.

_ “That sounds nothing like my dog, but there she is,”  _ Emma chuckled.  _ “Hey, girl.” _

“Nugget, say hi to your mama.” Alyssa held her phone up to Nugget, and Nugget leaned in and sniffed at it, then licked the screen. “Gross.” She pulled the phone back to herself and wiped it off on her shirt.

_ “So you’re not lying to me? She’s been good?” _

“Yeah,” Alyssa nodded. “I promise I’d tell you if she was getting into trouble.”

_ “Good,”  _ Emma sighed in relief.  _ “Thanks. I just have a lot on my plate right now and I’ve been stressed about her being a handful.” _

“You don’t have to stress,” Alyssa reassured. “She… she just misses you.”

_ “I miss her too.” _ Emma gave a sad, distant smile, then shook her head after a moment.  _ “But I’ll be back in a few days and she will be out of your hair.” _

“Aw, but I like having the company.”

_ “Well, maybe I could bring her around more often.” _

“Yeah,” Alyssa breathed. “You definitely should.”

“Nugget, no!” Alyssa looked over and saw Shelby holding the popcorn bowl up over her head while Nugget tried to climb over her to reach it. “This is people food!”

Emma blinked in surprise and tried to look over Alyssa’s shoulder.  _ “What was that?” _

“Uh, Shelby is over,” Alyssa explained, suppressing a laugh. She turned the camera so Emma could see what was happening.

Emma also laughed, but then she turned her attention back to Alyssa with a glare.  _ “You said I wasn’t interrupting anything!” _

“You’re not, it’s just Shelby.”

Shelby frowned. “Rude.”

_ “I’ll let you go,”  _ Emma said quickly.  _ “But thanks for letting me check in and see Nugget.” _

“Of course,” Alyssa said. “Seriously, Em, call or text anytime you miss her. I’ve been taking so many pictures cause she’s so darn cute.”

Emma chuckled.  _ “I will. Bye Alyssa. Bye Shelby!”  _ She ended the call, and Alyssa dropped her phone back on the coffee table. Shelby stared at her, waiting for her to say something, but Alyssa stayed quiet.

“Seriously, Alyssa, she is so into you,” Shelby groaned, still trying to push Nugget off of her. “When the hell are you gonna ask her out?”

“I don’t know, Shelb,” Alyssa sighed. “I don’t know.” She buried her face in her hands and closed her eyes, but after a moment, she heard a tapping noise. She looked through her fingers to see Shelby typing out an essay on her phone. “I swear to god if you’re texting Barry right now I will kick you out of my house.”

The rest of the week flew by faster than Alyssa realized. She quickly grew used to having a dog around the house— the jingle of her tags, the patter of her footsteps across the hardwood floor, the over-enthusiastic welcome whenever she arrived home from work. Even if she spent the whole day with dogs and cats at the shelter, there was something special about Nugget that stole her heart from day one, and spending this extra time with her only solidified that.

It was Tuesday night. Alyssa had already eaten dinner and taken Nugget out for her evening walk. They were snuggled up together on the couch, watching television. Nugget was in her spot, right in the middle of the couch, as usual, and Alyssa used her as a pillow.

Emma had texted an hour ago that she landed. Alyssa thought she should be arriving any moment, when there was finally a knock at the door.

Nugget could probably smell Emma behind the door, because the moment the knock sounded, she leapt off the couch and barked excitedly. Alyssa fell off the couch when her pillow jumped away. She grumbled, getting to her feet and walking to the door where Nugget already waited, wagging her tail.

The moment the door was open, Nugget had leapt up and tackled Emma to the floor, licking her. Her tail wagged so hard that her butt shook along with it. Grinning, Alyssa quickly grabbed her phone to take a video of the adorable assault.

Emma laughed from the floor, pushing herself upright into a sitting position. “Hey, girl!” She wrapped her arms around Nugget and hugged her tight, burying her face in her fur. “I missed you!”

Alyssa giggled at the sight before her: Emma, looking exhausted, sprawled out on the ground hugging her dog. She ended the video and put her phone away, then kicked the bottom of Emma’s shoe to get her attention. “As adorable as this reunion is, you know you can come inside, right?”

Emma’s eyes went wide, suddenly realizing she was still halfway out the door. “Whoops,” she said. She stood up and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Nugget tried to jump up on her again, and Emma stumbled right into Alyssa. “Sorry,” Emma muttered. She took a step back, a tired grin on her face. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Alyssa muttered, rubbing her arm awkwardly. “How are you?”

“Fucking tired,” Emma sighed. “Four hour bus ride and two hour flight. Not fun.”

“Aw, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad to be home. Well, almost home.”

“Well, I’ll let you get out of here. I packed up all her stuff, but if you don’t want to lug everything across town, feel free to leave some of it here and come back later.”

“Seriously?” Emma asked.

“Yeah,” Alyssa said. “You look exhausted. I mean— not in like, a bad way, you still look— I just.” She sighed. “I can tell you need some sleep. Sorry. I’m tired too.”

Emma laughed. “I’ll get out of your hair, then. Where’s her crate?”

“In my room.” Alyssa darted across the living room toward her bedroom. “I’ll grab that.”

“Aw, she slept in your room?”

Alyssa came back, lugging the crate with her. She shrugged, blushing. “She was lonely and missed you.” She set the crate down next to Emma.

Emma bent down and opened the door. “Come on, Nugget.”

Nugget stared at Emma, then turned around, jumped onto the couch and curled up in her spot. Emma frowned, confused, then glanced at Alyssa. Alyssa put on her best glare and mustered up a firm voice. “Nugget, it’s time to go home.”

Nugget lifted her head for a moment, then laid back down on the couch. Emma gasped, but she was smiling, amused. “Damn. I guess she does like you more than she likes me.”

“That’s not true,” Alyssa said. “See, look.” She marched over to the couch and tried to pick Nugget up, but Nugget wriggled out of her grip and hid under the coffee table.

Emma laid down on her stomach, looking under the coffee table, and glared at Nugget. “Nug, this isn’t like you! Let’s go.” She pulled up the crate and held it open.

Nugget stayed still, so she reached under and started to drag Nugget closer by the collar. Nugget squirmed away, tugging at her collar until Emma had no choice but to let go, and then ran away to curl up in her bed.

Emma scoffed. “What the hell, dude?”

“I am so sorry,” Alyssa said. “I feel like this is my fault.”

Emma shook her head. “Nah, she’s just being a brat,” she chuckled.

“She was good this whole week while I was watching her, I swear!”

“I believe you. She just likes to act up when I’m around. Because she’s a  _ brat.”  _ Emma looked pointedly in Nugget’s direction as she emphasized that last word. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late. I was hoping we’d be out of your hair faster than this.”

“I don’t mind,” Alyssa said with a shrug. “I mean… you could always hang out here until she falls asleep. Might be easier to grab her then.”

“I don’t want to impose—”

“I’m offering.”

Emma hesitated, looking from her stubborn dog to the door, then back to Alyssa. Alyssa gave her a reassuring smile. Finally, Emma’s shoulders relaxed. “If you’re sure it’s fine, that would be great.”

“Yeah, of course it’s fine. Are you hungry? I have some pasta I could heat up. Or if you just want a snack I have grapes and carrots and popcorn depending on how healthy you want to be.”

“I already ate, but could I get some water?”

“Yeah,” Alyssa said. “Have a seat, I’ll be right back.” She disappeared in the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. Emma had set her backpack down on the floor and settled in the corner of the couch, so Alyssa sat down next to her and handed her the glass.

“Thanks,” Emma muttered. They sat awkwardly for a moment, neither one speaking up.

Alyssa cleared her throat. “Do you wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Sure, yeah.”

Alyssa grabbed the remote and browsed for something to watch. “So how’s your grandma doing?”

“She’s good. She can walk herself to the bathroom now, which my cousin is very happy about.” Emma chuckled. “And it was good to be home for a bit. I don’t have the time to go visit her a lot except for like, Christmas. We just watched a lot of TV and she bossed me around.”

Alyssa laughed, and then felt something pushing her closer to Emma. She looked down and saw Nugget trying to curl up in her spot on the couch. She rested her head comfortably on Alyssa’s lap. There was enough room for both Alyssa and Emma in the corner of the couch, but they were pressed awkwardly close together. Alyssa let out a soft breath and looked up at Emma, faces a little too close for comfort that her cheeks started to flush. “Uh, sorry,” Alyssa muttered. “That’s kind of her spot.”

“She has a spot on the couch?” Alyssa nodded. “Spoiled dog.”

Alyssa smiled. She felt giddy and warm with Emma right at her side. She stretched her arm that was stuck between them, and the only comfortable place she could find for it was on the back of the couch, over Emma’s shoulder. “Sorry,” she said again. “Um, I can move to the other side.”

Emma shook her head and nodded down at Nugget, whose eyes were closed. “Nah, she’s comfortable. Maybe if you don’t move, she’ll fall asleep like that.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Alyssa smiled down at the adorable dog in her lap and petted her softly. Nugget opened her eyes, licked Alyssa’s hand, then settled back down again.

“God she’s cute,” Emma sighed. “I missed her.”

They ended up watching  _ 101 Dalmatians,  _ which they thought was fitting while Nugget was with them. Nugget was surprisingly invested in the movie, occasionally barking along with the dogs on screen. Emma, however, must have been wiped out from a long day of travel. Not even halfway into the movie, she began to doze off. Her eyes drifted closed, and her head fell to Alyssa’s shoulder, resting there. Alyssa looked down at her, a small smile on her lips. Nugget was still awake, so she pulled the blanket over them and closed her eyes.

When Alyssa woke up, she was surprisingly comfortable. There was a soft warmth behind her, and on top of her. She was still sitting upright, but in her sleep had leaned to the side and stretched her legs out across the couch. She wrenched one eye open and found Nugget snoozing on her lap, snuggled up to her. She snored softly and occasionally, her leg would twitch a little as she dreamt.

Alyssa turned her head to the side and found Emma watching her, an amused smile on her lips. “Hey,” she whispered.

“What time is it?” Alyssa groaned.

“After midnight. Sorry I kinda fell asleep on you.”

“It’s fine. I did too.” Alyssa realized she was still half laying on top of Emma and blushed. “Sorry, I—I’ll move.” She started to sit up, but Nugget stirred a little in her lap. Emma grabbed Alyssa’s arms to stop her movement. Alyssa held her breath as she waited. Nugget whined for a moment, but then settled down again, still fast asleep.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t move, it’ll wake her. Besides, you two snuggled up together is really cute.”

Alyssa bit her lip, grinning bashfully. “Yeah, we did a lot of that this week.”

“Really?”

Alyssa shrugged. “She missed you.”

Emma reached over Alyssa to gently pet Nugget’s side, careful to not disturb her slumber. “Man, now I’m really starting to believe she likes you more than me. She only snuggles with me when she knows it’ll annoy me.”

There was a light behind Emma’s eyes as she petted Nugget; she was so full of love and warmth, and it made Alyssa smile. She wanted to know Emma. She wanted to know everything that put that light in her eyes.

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves. It was easier to muster up a tiny bit of confidence away from the light of day and the reality of the rest of the world. Right now, the only world that existed in Alyssa’s eyes was this couch, Emma, and Nugget.

“I really missed you too,” Alyssa whispered. When she felt Emma’s eyes on her, she looked down at her lap and busied herself playing with the edge of the blanket.

“Really?” Emma asked.

Alyssa nodded. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too.”

Alyssa chanced a glance back at Emma. Their eyes met, and Alyssa saw in her hazel eyes the same warmth she saw earlier. She glanced down at Emma’s lips, barely parted, and Emma gave a small smile when she met her eyes again. Emma leaned her head down, just barely, and while Alyssa’s heart began to race in her chest, she leaned into meet her.

Their noses brushed, but before their lips could meet, there was a loud, deep sound that rang through the room that caused them to pause. They looked at each other, then down at Nugget, still fast asleep.

Then, the smell came.

“Oh, god,” Emma groaned, pulling her shirt up over her nose.

Alyssa bunched up the blanket and held it over her face. “You know, I really wish you had told me before I agreed to watch your dog that she  _ farts in her sleep!” _

“I thought you’d say no if I disclosed that information!”

Nugget stirred again, wriggling in Alyssa’s lap. She and Emma immediately quieted themselves and froze, watching Nugget until she was clearly still asleep. Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Alyssa, and they both began to laugh under their breath.

“We should get going,” Emma said eventually, once her stifled laughter had subsided. “Before she wakes up.”

Alyssa tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Otherwise she might never leave.”

“I guess that wouldn’t be so bad,” Emma muttered. Her gaze lingered on Alyssa for a moment, before she shook her head and slowly stood from the couch. “Um, stay still and I’ll grab her.”

Alyssa didn’t move. Nugget snoozed peacefully on her lap while Emma dragged her crate closer. She held her breath as Emma hovered over her for a moment, then gently wrapped her arms around the dog. Nugget stirred a little, but then settled in Emma’s arms, still asleep. Alyssa sat up, watching Emma carry Nugget and gently place her inside the crate. She searched the room for a moment, then found the sloth toy, put it in the crate with Nugget, and closed the door.

“Um, is it still okay if I leave some of her stuff here?” Emma asked. “I promise I’ll grab it this week, it’s just so late and I want to get her home.”

“Of course,” Alyssa said, standing up from the couch.

“Cool.” Emma hesitated, rubbing her elbow. Then, she wrapped her arms around Alyssa, pulling her in for a hug. “Thank you, again.”

Alyssa smiled into Emma’s shoulder and held her close. “Hey, we had fun. Thanks for letting me watch her.”

After a moment, Emma stepped back. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and picked up Nugget’s crate. “Um, I’ll text you, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you soon.” Alyssa darted across the room to open the door for Emma. Emma stepped outside, then turned around.

“Goodnight, Alyssa.”

“Goodnight, Emma.”

Emma disappeared down the hall, and Alyssa softly closed the door behind her. She waited until the distant footsteps subsided, and leaned her forehead against the door, letting out a wistful sigh. She turned back to the room. Nugget’s bags were piled in the corner, and her bed was in its place next to the couch. Emma’s empty glass of water sat on the coffee table. Alyssa tried not to think about how welcome the extra houseguests were as she headed to her room and went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry they’re still dumb! Except for Nugget. Nugget has the only brain cell.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE LAST CHAPTER!! ENJOY!

It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and Emma had no plans. The bright sun was a nice change from the stormy weather that had plagued the city for what felt like weeks. But now that the clouds were gone and the birds were singing, Emma couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do than spend a day out at the park with Nugget.

Emma packed up a picnic blanket, some of Nugget’s favorite toys, and lots of sunscreen, and they set off for the park. She found a nice spot in the shade with not too much foot traffic except for the occasional biker or jogger. They even passed by one of Emma’s favorite food trucks on the way, so she treated herself to a grilled cheese sandwich.

Once the blanket was set up, Emma sat comfortably on it and dug through her bag for Nugget’s favorite tennis ball. Nugget ended up using tennis balls as chew toys and destroyed them after a few days, but Emma found a particularly sturdy purple one that was perfect for playing fetch. The moment Nugget saw it, she barked excitedly and wagged her tail, waiting for Emma to throw it.

Nugget was a well behaved dog but Emma still left her leash on, just in case she got over excited about something. She did, however, drop the leash so that Nugget could run free and chase after the ball.

“Sit,” Emma said, holding the ball over Nugget’s head.

Nugget promptly sat down.

“Good girl.”

Emma chucked the ball as far as she could throw it (which, admittedly, wasn’t too far; she had never been very good at sports), and Nugget zoomed after it, a furry brown blur. With Nugget preoccupied for about thirty seconds, Emma grabbed her grilled cheese and took a delicious bite.

It was going to be a good day.

Nugget came running back to Emma and dropped the ball right in her lap. She had to quickly move her sandwich out of the way so it didn’t get dog slobber all over it. She chucked the ball again, a little further this time, and Nugget took off after it.

As Emma bit into her sandwich again, she watched Nugget grab the ball and turn around. While Nugget ran back, her attention was sidetracked and she suddenly veered off to the side, running straight toward a jogger passing them by.

“Damn it, Nugget!” Emma cried out. She set down her food and chased after her dog.

Thankfully, Nugget didn’t get too far. She did intercept the jogger on the path next to where Emma had set up their blanket, and Emma was just about ready to scold her dog when she realized that the jogger was none other than Alyssa. Her good day just turned into a great day.

This wasn’t the first time that Nugget had spotted Alyssa somewhere in public and run up to her, forcing Emma to talk to her. She was starting to suspect her dog was plotting something. Golden doodles were known to be pretty smart and mischievous after all.

Alyssa skidded to a stop when Nugget ran in front of her. She laughed in amusement when she realized who it was, then pulled out her ear buds and bent down to pet Nugget.

Emma finally caught up, out of breath. “Nugget, what am I gonna do with you?”

Alyssa looked up at Emma and grinned. “Fancy seeing you here.”

She stood upright and Emma tried really hard to keep her eyes from lingering, but somehow Alyssa still looked perfect in sweaty workout clothes. Emma cleared her throat, cheeks flushed, and kept her eyes on Alyssa’s face, smiling. “Hey,” Emma muttered. “Sorry to interrupt your run.”

“It’s a welcome interruption,” she said, and patted Nugget on the head again. “How are you?”

“Good. Glad the rain finally stopped.”

“God, same. Usually I like the rain, but I haven’t gone for a run in weeks and I was starting to get lazy.”

“I usually like it too, but Nugget is apparently  _ terrified  _ of thunder.” Emma looked down at her dog affectionately.

“Aww, poor baby,” Alyssa muttered, crouching down again for a moment to rub Nugget’s face.

“She’s fine when she’s distracted, but getting her to sleep at night was hard. She ended up weaseling her way into my bed, but she slept like a rock once she was there,” Emma laughed.

“Don’t let her get used to that or she’ll never sleep in her own bed again!”

“Oh, yeah, tonight it’s back to the floor. Isn’t that right, Nugget?” Nugget looked up at Emma, then trotted off to find the ball that she dropped as she ran toward Alyssa.

“So you decided to enjoy the sunshine today, too?” Alyssa asked, nodding toward the blanket as she watched Nugget walk back and drop the ball on it.

“Yeah,” Emma shrugged. “I’m off work and it’s a nice day. We both needed to stretch our legs.”

“I’m sure she’s got a ton of energy after being cooped—” Alyssa cut her off and her eyes grew wide. “Nugget, no!”

Emma turned around just in time to see Nugget grab the blanket in her mouth and take off running further into the park. Emma and Alyssa exchanged a quick, baffled look, before Alyssa took off running after her.

“I’ve got her! You grab your stuff!”

Emma hastily shoved everything into her backpack, frowning at half a grilled cheese sandwich that was cast into the dirt, then ran after Alyssa in a panic. Emma lost sight of Nugget, but she could still see Alyssa, running frantically, so she was sure Alyssa at least knew where her dog was.

Emma was not an athletic person, already out of breath, pushing through crowds to try and catch up. Finally, she saw Alyssa lunge forward, falling to the ground, but in her grip was the other end of the blanket. Emma let herself slow down since the chase had stalled while Alyssa and Nugget played tug-of-war over the blanket.

Emma ran past a duck, startling it. The duck flapped its wings and took off, and this seemed to catch Nugget’s attention. She dropped the blanket, and instead chased after the duck.

“Are you kidding me?!” Emma groaned. She held out a hand and helped Alyssa to her feet.

Alyssa muttered a quick, “Thanks.” Alyssa’s cheeks were flushed and she had a sheen of sweat on her forehead. The unruly curls in her ponytail had fallen out of place and she was out of breath, but there was an amused grin on her lips. She lingered for a moment, then nodded in the direction Nugget had run. “Let’s go?”

She didn’t even leave a moment to respond before she dropped Emma’s hand and chased after Nugget once again.

“Yeah, okay,” Emma said, breathless, mostly to herself. She sighed, then followed after them, grumbling. “This dog is going to be the death of me.”

It didn’t take long to catch up to Nugget this time, because the duck she had chased flew into the lake. Nugget didn’t like water and was stopped at the shore, barking at the bird that was now about ten feet away on the water. Alyssa reached her first and quickly snatched Nugget’s leash before she could take off again.

“I’m… so… sorry,” Emma panted as she finally caught up. She sucked in lungfuls of air and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I’m not sure if you would’ve caught up with her yourself if I hadn’t,” Alyssa said with a laugh as she handed Nugget’s leash to Emma. She brushed her hair out of her face, and while she was a little flushed from the run, she looked hardly winded.

“What are you trying to say?” Emma glared at her playfully. “I’m fine.” She sucked in a long breath and exhaled with an exhausted groan. “No I’m not. God. Fuck running.”

“You need some water?” Alyssa asked. She reached into her bag and offered a small bottle of water, which Emma graciously accepted.

Emma took a few sips, then handed the bottle back. Finally able to catch her breath, she glared down at Nugget who wagged her tail innocently. “What the hell, man? Bad dog!”

Nugget whined, then walked behind Emma and nudged the back of her legs, pushing her into Alyssa.

Emma stumbled forward. “Sorry,” she muttered to Alyssa. She glared down at Nugget again. “Seriously, dude?” Nugget nudged her again.

Alyssa crouched down next to Nugget. “What’s wrong, Nug?” she asked, frowning. Nugget walked up to her and tugged on her shirt a little, then looked up at Emma expectantly, and Emma suddenly realized what she was doing. Emma couldn’t help but laugh at her dog’s antics. Nugget was a perceptive little bastard, and too smart for her own good.

“What is it?” Alyssa looked up at Emma and got to her feet.

“I—er— I don’t think she wants me to let you leave.” Emma gave an awkward chuckle.

Alyssa’s lips curled into an amused smile. “And why’s that?”

“Nugget just really likes you,” Emma said, unconvincingly, a blush on her cheeks. Alyssa didn’t look convinced, so Emma just shrugged. “She’s smart. Probably knows I like spending time with you.”

Alyssa gave her a soft smile. “I like spending time with you too.” There was something behind her eyes that Emma couldn’t quite place, but it was something that made Emma’s heart thrum a little faster. She thought back to the night she picked up Nugget from Alyssa’s apartment and realized that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be a little brave.

Emma took a deep breath. “Maybe… we could do that more often?”

“What, chase after your dog?”

“No, spend time together.”

Alyssa grinned. “Of course! Next time you bring Nugget to the park, let me know and I’ll meet you here. We can make a whole day of it.”

Emma shook her head. “No, no, I mean  _ without _ Nugget.” Alyssa raised an eyebrow, confused. “Not that I don’t want you around Nugget, she loves you! But we could still— I mean, we don’t have to have her around all the time— and— I—” Emma groaned as she lost track of her sentence, unable to coherently string two words together.

Alyssa’s eyebrows scrunched together, adorably perplexed, and Emma cursed her heart that threatened to leap out of her chest. “Em, what are you saying?”

Emma looked down at Nugget, hoping that she could somehow offer some sage wisdom in this trying time. Unfortunately, Nugget is a dog and could not speak, but her bright eyes and wagging tail offered some reassurance, and it gave Emma the surge of confidence that she so desperately needed.

“Fuck it,” Emma muttered. She grabbed Alyssa’s hand and tugged her in closer, then wrapped the other arm around her waist. “Can I just…” She glanced down at Alyssa’s lips then back up to her eyes, faces inches apart. She hesitated, giving Alyssa the out if that was what she wanted.

Instead, Alyssa’s hands came up to cup Emma’s cheeks and closed the distance, pulling her in for a kiss. The tightening in her chest and the nerves and anxiety that always cropped up whenever Alyssa so much as looked her way suddenly dissipated. And Emma’s great day turned into a perfect day.

She pulled back after a moment, resting her forehead against Alyssa’s, panting from a breathtaking kiss. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Alyssa already looking at her with a hopeful wonder in her eyes.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time,” Emma confessed.

Alyssa’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “Me too.”

Emma let out a relieved breath. “Go to dinner with me?” she asked. “Tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever you’re free. I just… I really like you, Alyssa Greene.”

Alyssa pursed her lips, then an adorable, dimpled grin appeared. “I’m free tonight.” She gave Emma a quick peck on the cheek. “And I really like you too, Emma Nolan.”

They gazed at each other, lost in enchantment, only drawn apart when Nugget barked loudly at their feet. They giggled, then stepped apart and looked down at the culprit. Nugget was practically dancing with joy, wagging her tail, barking, crouching down on her front paws and jumping up. Emma rolled her eyes.

“Was this your plan all along, Nugget?” Emma grumbled.

Alyssa laughed and crouched down to pet Nugget again. “I guess I should be thanking you,” she muttered. “I’ll bring you some treats tonight,” she added with a wink. Nugget licked her face. She stood up and started to back away from Emma and Nugget. “Anyway, I should get going.”

“What?” Emma frowned. “Already?”

“Well, I have a date tonight and I look like  _ this _ right now, so I need some time to get ready.”

“I think you look beautiful. You can wear that on our date if you want.”

Alyssa blushed, shaking her head. “Plus I should probably call Shelby. I’m pretty sure she and Barry have placed bets on when we were going to get our shit together.”

“Huh,” Emma frowned, thinking back to all those obedience lessons when Shelby would always ask her how Alyssa was doing and Emma would point out that Shelby worked with Alyssa and probably spoke to her more often. All it really accomplished was thoroughly confusing Emma. “That would explain a lot.”

“I’ll see you tonight, Emma.”

“I can’t wait.”

Alyssa put her earbuds back in and waved as she ran back to the path, leaving Emma and Nugget by the lakeshore. Emma stood, shocked for a moment. She brought a hand up to her lips, still tingling from the ghost of Alyssa’s kiss.

Nugget barked again, wagging her tail, looking rather pleased with herself.

“Oh, don’t look so smug,” Emma glared at her. “You’re still a butthole.”

Nugget pouted and Emma rolled her eyes, but she crouched down and patted the ground next to her. Nugget trotted over and sat in front of Emma, so Emma grabbed her face and kissed her on the head, ruffling her ears a little.

“Thanks,” she muttered. “You’re a pretty good wingdog after all.”

Nugget barked again and licked her chin.

  
  


Alyssa’s eyes were heavy as she stretched out in bed, exhausted. She pulled the covers tighter over herself, then rolled over, intent on going back to sleep, but was surprised when there was a warm body in bed next to her.

She wrenched an eye open, blinked the blurred, sleepy vision, away, and saw Emma lying there, blonde curls splayed out against the pillow, a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. Alyssa smiled affectionately, slowly remembering their date from the night before as her brain woke up. She wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist and snuggled into her, pressing a gentle kiss to her sternum.

It wasn’t her intention to wake Emma, but she stirred regardless, humming in content and wrapping her arms around Alyssa.

“Good morning,” Alyssa whispered between soft pecks to her shoulders.

“Hm,” Emma sighed, opening her eyes. “Morning.”

Alyssa lifted her head to look at Emma, and Emma’s hands came up, cupping her cheeks and brushing away some of her loose morning curls.

“You’re so beautiful,” Emma breathed. She leaned in, capturing Alyssa’s lips in a sweet kiss.

They traded lazy, morning kisses for a while, and Alyssa was content, but with Emma in her bed like this, she couldn’t help herself. Her hands started to wander. Emma gasped against her lips, breaking off the kiss, giggling.

“What time is it?”

“Mm, don’t care,” Alyssa said, kissing her again. Emma indulged her for a blissful moment, but then her hands were on Alyssa’s cheeks, pulling her away.

“Seriously, Lys, what time is it?”

Alyssa grumbled as she rolled over and checked the time on her phone, ignoring the texts on her screen. “A little after eight.”

Emma groaned. “I should get going.”

“Noo!” Alyssa rolled over again and wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist, pouting. “Don’t go.”

Emma kissed the pout from her lips. “Trust me, I don’t want to leave,” she muttered, then kissed her forehead. “But I left Nugget home alone last night. I took her out right before I left, and she can hold her bladder, but I should really get back to check on her.”

“You’re probably right,” Alyssa pouted. “A few more minutes?”

Emma grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m sure a few more minutes won’t hurt.”

“Good.” Alyssa pressed forward and kissed her again, a little more heated this time. Her hands continued to wander, and eventually her lips trailed down to Emma’s neck, dancing against the skin there. She bit down on Emma’s pulse, and Emma gasped and pulled away.

“Ugh, why do I have to be a responsible dog mom?” Emma groaned as she rolled to the side of the bed and crawled out, clutching the sheet to herself as she gathered her clothes from around the room.

“So I can be the cool mom that she likes more?”

Emma glared at her. “Was this your plan all along? To steal the affections of my dog?”

Alyssa shrugged. “Maybe.”

Emma finished dressing herself, then sat down at the edge of the bed. She tugged Alyssa closer and kissed her, sweet and slow. Alyssa sighed against her lips, cupping her cheeks, wanting to hold onto this perfect night for a little bit longer. Eventually, Emma broke the kiss and placed her lips to Alyssa’s forehead. Alyssa sighed and closed her eyes, leaning into the comforting touch.

“You know,” she whispered, “you could just get Nugget a bed here. If you want. So you don’t have to rush out next time.”

“Next time?”

Alyssa’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Emma. “Mhm. I mean, I’d definitely like a next time. Do—do you want a next time?”

Emma grinned. “Definitely.” Alyssa blissfully pulled Emma in for another lingering kiss.

“We’ll just make Nugget sleep in the living room,” she breathed against Emma’s lips. “I wouldn’t want her interrupting anything important.”

“Important?” Emma asked, playfully wiggling her eyebrows. “Important how?”

“Important like last night when we got home and you—”

Emma silenced her with another kiss. “You’re cute,” she muttered. “But I really have to go.” She stood and gathered the rest of her things, heading for the door.

Alyssa sat up in bed, letting the blanket covering her fall to her lap. “You sure I can’t get you to stay?” she asked innocently.

Emma turned around and her face paled, eyes drawn to Alyssa’s chest for a moment, before looking up and holding eye contact. “You’re evil,” she glared, shaking her head. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Alyssa laid back down, a giddy smile on her face. “See you tonight, Em.” She drew a pillow into her arms, hugging it to her chest as she watched Emma leave her bedroom and heard the apartment door close behind her. She crawled over to the edge of the bed and grabbed her phone again to take a look at those text messages.

_ 23 new messages from Shelby Gonzales. _

Alyssa sighed and set her phone back down without opening any of them. She would deal with that later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re done being dummies!!! Yay!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed because this was super fun to write and I’m so sad it’s over! Leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading and sticking with this journey of dumbassery where the dog has the only brain cell!


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